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The Magazine of North Carolina Central University School of Law
Stories from the Practice Front: Civil, Criminal, Bankruptcy, Tax, and Dispute Resolution
Our Students at the Supreme Court
First Legal Eagle Commencement Reunion
Building on
the Legacy
Producing Practice-Ready Attorneys
North Carolina Central University Volume 15 school of law
of Counsel 3
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Readings and Features
04 Letter from the Dean
05 Practice-Ready Attorneys
12 Susie Ruth Powell and “The Loving Story”
13 John Britton, Charles Hamilton Houston Chair
13 Foreclosure Grant
ofCOUNSEL
At School Now
16 Supreme Court Trip
18 Most Popular US News & World Report
18 PILO Auction
20 Graduation
Also In This Issue
15 Faculty Spotlights
25 Alumni News
28 Donor List
The NCCU School of Law
publishes the of Counsel magazine.
This publication is supported by a
Title III grant. Thirty six hundred
fifty copies of this issue were
printed at the cost of $4.99 each.
of Counsel is a magazine for alumni
and friends of North Carolina Central
University School of Law.
Volume 15 / Spring 2013
of Counsel is published by the NCCU
School of Law for alumni, friends, and
members of the law community.
Dean
Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Former Director of Development
Delores James
Editor
Shawnda M. Brown
Copy Editors
Brenda Gibson ’95
Rob Waters
Design and Illustrations
Kompleks Creative Group
Printer
Progressive Business Solutions
Photographers
Elias Edward Brown, Jr.
Tobias Rose
Writers and Contributors
Sharon D. Alston
Carissa Burroughs
Cynthia Fobert
Delores James
We welcome your comments, suggestions,
and ideas for future articles or alumni
news. Please send correspondence to:
Carissa Burroughs
NCCU School of Law
640 Nelson St.
Durham, NC 27707
Email: carissa.burroughs@nccu.edu
Web Site: law.nccu.edu
Alumni Events
22 Dean’s Welcome Reception
22 Alumni Receptions
24 First Legal Eagle Commencement Reunion
Table of Contents
Legal Eagle Alumni Awards
4 of Counsel Readings and Features of Counsel 5
Letter from
the Dean
Dear Alumni:
As I complete my first year as Dean of your law school, I want
to thank you for the tremendous support and the well wishes
that you have shared with me as I endeavor to follow in a
tradition of great service to our students. I am truly honored
to be the Dean of North Carolina Central University School
of Law and have the opportunity to be part of building on the
great legacy that defines our school. My first year has been a
year of immense accomplishment, change, and opportunities.
In January, we were privileged to receive an $800,000 grant to provide critical foreclosure assistance to individuals across North
Carolina. The funds were provided by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency and originated from a landmark national mortgage
settlement with the country’s five largest loan servicers. This is indeed a great accomplishment that will enable us to provide critical
legal services to our surrounding communities. In March, U.S. News & World Report ranked NCCU School of Law the sixth most
popular law school in the nation. The most popular ranking is based on the percentage of accepted applicants that enroll. In addition,
your law school also ranked number four in clinical opportunities and was lauded as one of the most diverse law schools.
This year, we welcomed three new members to our administrative staff. Donald R. Corbett, an award-winning professor, now serves as
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and teaches in the areas of Torts, Advanced Torts, and Critical Race Theory. Our new Associate
Dean for Finance and Administration is Frank Toliver Jr. Prior to joining the law school, he served as Vice President for Business
and Finance at The Charlotte School of Law and has held senior financial positions in other institutions of higher education. Laura
Shepherd Brooks is our new Associate Dean of Student Services. Prior to joining NCCU School of Law, she served as a Director of
Academic Affairs at New York Law School and Assistant Secretary to the New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners.
Finally, I want to share with you the tremendous opportunity we have to impact our greatest asset, our students. We are currently
enhancing our bar exam preparatory program to achieve record breaking bar passage numbers by the year 2016. This year, Kelly
Burgess ’06 joined us as our Director of Bar Preparation. In this capacity, Attorney Burgess is working with our students beginning in
the 1L year to prepare them to pass the bar. In addition, we are enhancing our curriculum to support bar exam success.
Thank you for helping to make my first year as Dean a year of great achievement.
In Truth and Service,
Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Dean and Professor of Law
Readings
& Features
Willie E. Gary (Civil)
Willie Gary chose the law instead of armed resistance to the
racism he endured growing up in the 1950s South. Although
he has achieved the pinnacle of success as head of his own
national firm of Gary, Williams, Finney, Lewis, Watson &
Sperando, P.L., Gary is no less passionate about the fight for
justice today than he ever was, regardless of the race of the
injured party. “I fight for their rights, to stop suffering, and to
bring major corporations down to their knees when they’re
caught doing wrong,” said Gary.
His firm litigates civil cases in 45 states and has earned
numerous multi-million dollar settlements — none more
spectacular than Gary’s $500 million verdict in O’Keefe v.
Loewen. The Loewen Group was the second-largest funeral
home corporation in North America until it was found to
have engaged in predatory business practices against local
businessman Jeremiah O’Keefe of Biloxi, Mississippi. The
Loewen Group had the opportunity to settle for $5 million,
but the company chose to contest the case against O’Keefe in a
Jackson court, with Gary serving as opposing counsel.
In reference to his media venture, the Black Family Channel,
which has been fraught with public discord between Gary
and some of his high-profile partners, Gary acknowledged the
Willie E. Gary ’74, The Gary Law Group, Civil Litigation error in thinking “that because you’re good at law, you’re good
Practice-Ready
Attorneys Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
6 of Counsel Readings and Features Readings and Features of Counsel 7
that he attended when he was just starting out. “You got
to meet the Chamberses, the Bectons, and the Timmons-
Goodsons of the world,” said Adams. “Those face-to-face
meetings were monumentally helpful to me.”
James D. “Butch” Williams
(Criminal)
When the call went out to the School of Law alumni to
suggest who should receive recognition as one of the top
practicing attorney in their ranks, the answer came back
resoundingly in favor of choosing James D. “Butch” Williams.
Williams seemed destined for greatness early on. As a third-year
law student, when he had trouble reaching Attorney
Kenneth Spaulding to request an internship, Williams waited
for hours to speak with the senior partner as he left his office
one evening. Spaulding agreed to take him on, saying, “Anyone
who was that drive deserved the placement.”
With his law degree in hand, Williams was immediately
admitted to the bar, and then the U.S. Marine Corps as an
infantry officer and judge advocate. When his tour ended,
Spaulding welcomed him back as an associate. “Within one
year, I made him a partner,” said Spaulding. “That’s how
good he was.”
In part, this is why it was important to Adams to manage his
own practice. He said, “I always thought there should be a firm
in which African-Americans were up front as an example and
role model.” Adams is called upon to represent his community
by politicians and colleagues in the legal profession, and
asked for advice and counsel on almost any subject by fellow
African-Americans.
There is a downside. “You’re always on,” said Adams. “Black
lawyers are always on duty. Other attorneys don’t get that.”
Adams represents defendants in criminal, juvenile, and traffic
court. His busy days begin with staff and client meetings
before court at 9:00 a.m. Often, there are negotiations with
district attorneys until the mid-afternoon, and then it’s back
to the office for a wrap-up with staff on case progress, and
more meetings with clients. Evenings are spent participating
in community meetings or events. Former Governor Jim Hunt
recognized Adams’ unselfish commitment to service with the
award of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 1998.
Now and in the future, Adams intends to focus more of his
attention on the needs of young black lawyers. He organizes
monthly forums to teach them about the business and
operational side of the practice, and also to dispel courtroom
myths. He is attempting to re-create something akin to the
meetings of the North Carolina Black Lawyers Association
law cases. “It’s high drama from morning till night,” said Ellis.
“The real key to survive is to be ready for anything, anticipate
everything, and shut it off at 5:00 p.m.” He contrasts his
calm professionalism with the tendency of some attorneys to
identify with their clients’ positions, and yell and scream at
opposing counsel. “You can’t do that,” said Ellis. “It shouldn’t
be personal to us. When you lose that distance, you can’t give
the best advice.”
It is the breadth of his experiences that surprises Ellis. When
he began practicing, he thought he would work primarily
in the background, in the role of mediator. While he does
engage in mediation, he is making a name for himself as a
litigator. Ellis was lead counsel in a case presented to the
North Carolina Court of Appeals that resulted in a new
interpretation of divorce law. Until Ellis’ appeal, divorcing
couples had to wait until one of the pair had vacated the
matrimonial home before a pronouncement could be made
regarding the initial custody and support of children. Now, that
determination can be made in advance of the legal separation,
ensuring greater certainty and a smoother transition for
the children. Ellis is currently pursuing a similar precedent
regarding the “bed and board” provision of divorce law that
would enable one spouse to force out the spouse who has
committed marital misconduct but refuses to leave.
Given his even temperament and penchant for scholarly work,
everyone should watch out for this soaring Eagle. Ellis may
someday grace the bench or a classroom podium.
Glenn Adams (Criminal)
As a senior partner in a law firm in one of Fayetteville’s leading
law firms, Glenn Adams is expected to assume a leadership
role in the community. As an African-American senior partner,
that responsibility is magnified tenfold. Adams understands
and accepts the mantle of service. He was inspired to study
law by the presence of Judge Arthur Lane, a Black civil rights
attorney living in his neighborhood when he was growing up.
at everything else.” He said, “To go into the TV business was
probably the worst decision I ever made.… I am a lawyer, a
trial lawyer. I was born to try cases.”
In that arena, Gary is as busy as ever. His office serves 1,000
clients and fields up to 1,300 calls a day, many of them
seeking Gary’s personal attention. His days are full interacting
with plaintiffs and staff, and traveling. “It’s Savannah today,
mediation in Houston later this week, Phoenix for another
mediation, and a trial in Jacksonville, Florida.”
When asked for a final comment, he answered, “I’m Willie
Gary, sharecropper’s son. I went to NCCU School of Law and
look at me now. I have lawyers working for me from Harvard,
Yale, and Princeton, and who signs their paychecks?”
Gray Ellis (Civil)
Gray Ellis’ goal was always to become a family lawyer. He
wanted to help families cope with crises that were often the
worst times in their lives, in whatever way best protected the
children. He worked briefly as an attendant at a mental health
facility and then as a juvenile court counselor prior to enrolling
at NCCU School of Law. With his law degree in hand, Ellis
began a family law practice that has earned him recognition
as a rising star in the field. He attributes his success to his
ability to keep above the emotional fray that attends family
James D. “Butch” Williams ’79, Senior Partner, The
Law Offices of James D. Williams Jr., Criminal Law
Gray Ellis ’01, Founder, Ellis Family Law
Glenn Adams ’84, Senior Partner, Adams,
Burge & Boughman, PLLC, Criminal Law
8 of Counsel Readings and Features Readings and Features of Counsel 9
Diana Santos Johnson
(Bankruptcy)
“I didn’t come from a family of lawyers, so I didn’t really know
what one did,” said Diana Santos Johnson. It was not until
an internship at the Land Loss Prevention Project that she
learned how she could help people as a lawyer by using the law
to preserve property that had been in families for generations.
She found it so rewarding, she returned to Land Loss after
graduation from NCCU School of Law. As an attorney there,
she learned how bankruptcy laws — particularly Chapter 12 —
can assist farmers to restructure their debt and avoid the loss of
their family farms.
The experience at Land Loss inspired Johnson’s interest and
current work in foreclosure prevention and defense at Legal Aid
of North Carolina, Inc. “Our clients are right on the cusp of
losing their homes,” said Johnson. She spends most of her days
on the phone with banks to arrange loan modifications, in court
representing homeowners at foreclosure hearings, or evaluating
them for bankruptcy with the ultimate goal of saving their
home. Johnson finds foreclosure prevention work satisfying
because it results in “more success and happier clients” than she
encounters with some of the other cases she pursues.
In addition to mortgage foreclosure and bankruptcy work,
Johnson also handles other civil cases involving unemployment
insurance benefits, public benefits, and housing matters for
clients who may not have knowledge or understanding of their
rights in these areas. “As long as the economy is in crisis,” said
Johnson, “there are many more people who qualify for our
services than we can begin to assist.”
In 2007, the Raleigh News & Observer stated that for every
client served, eight were turned away, and that was before the
foreclosure crisis. “We accept cases according to a triage system
of guidelines and cannot help everyone who qualifies for our
services,” said Johnson. “Most people don’t realize that there’s
no guarantee of legal services for civil matters. You have no
right to an attorney to help you save your home.”
Nina E. Olson (Tax)
Nina Olson began her professional career as an artist, and she
plans to return one day to designing textiles and clothing. For
now, she serves at the pleasure of the Secretary of the Treasury.
As the National Taxpayer Advocate, she is the lone voice at
the IRS speaking on behalf of the American taxpayer in her
testimony and twice-yearly report to Congress. In the Annual
Report of December 2012, Olson railed against the 4-million-word
tax code, and decried Congress’s propensity to cut the
only unit of government that returns seven dollars for every
dollar invested. She told Congress that underfunding the IRS
also cripples responsiveness to the taxpayer who may have
been the victim of identity theft or a mistaken assessment,
increasing cynicism and decreasing compliance.
The journey from starving artist to head of a government
unit of 2,200 employees began with that byzantine tax code.
Olson learned to navigate the tax return as a self-employed
artist, and became the go-to person for tax assistance in her
artistic community. That facility turned into a small business
in tax preparation. She enrolled in law school to gain a greater
understanding of the code, and she chose NCCU for the
flexibility of our evening program. “The Law School at NCCU
really did make it possible for a single parent to go to law
school,” said Olson. “It was hard and long, but it was the only
way I could have become a lawyer.”
Williams remained with Spaulding for 10 years and opened
his own practice in criminal, sports, and entertainment law
in 1996. He was one of the defense attorneys in the Duke
lacrosse, Michael Vick, and Wesley Snipes cases, and he has
represented numerous NFL and NBA draft picks and Pro
Bowl players. Despite a recent illness, Williams was engaged in
the NFL draft again this year.
“As much as he is a great lawyer, he’s even a greater person,”
said Lowell Siler ’79, classmate, friend, and former colleague.
“It’s remarkable how much free legal services he has provided
to NCCU students and to so many others who needed his
help.” Siler attributes Williams’ success to this generous spirit,
his striving for perfection, and his impeccable honesty and
integrity. “Young lawyers may think that the way to success is
to be slick, fast, and loose with the truth,” said Siler, “but the
way Butch did it was the right way — by being totally honest.”
While classmate and NCCU School of Law Assistant Dean
Pamela Glean ’79 appreciates Williams’ nearly 20 years
of service as an adjunct professor, she claims his greatest
accomplishment to date is his recovery, “Now, he’s tackling his
illness just like everything else in his life — full steam ahead.”
Ciara L. Rogers (Bankruptcy)
As a child, Ciara Rogers wanted to be a doctor; that is, until
she learned that doctors have to give shots and look at blood.
At that point, Rogers quickly moved to the next profession on
her list and decided to become a lawyer.
Rogers came to NCCU School of Law with the intention to
study small business law until she took a class with Associate
Professor Susan Hauser. Hauser’s passion for bankruptcy
changed the direction of Rogers’ career. “Bankruptcy touches
on every other aspect of the law and it never gets
boring,” said Rogers.
Shortly after graduation, Rogers clerked for Bankruptcy
Court Judges J. Rich Leonard and Randy Doub, and was
subsequently invited to join the law firm of Oliver Friesen
Cheek PLLC, in New Bern, North Carolina. “Our cases don’t
fit the stereotype of people who’ve run up their credit card
debt frivolously,” said Rogers.
With the onset of the subprime mortgage crisis, Rogers’
clients include commercial and residential builders and
building supply company owners, couples undergoing
divorce, retirees who lost the corpus of their retirement
fund, and those with serious medical conditions who lost
their health insurance when they lost their jobs. Rogers
knows that people find themselves in need of bankruptcy
relief for all kinds of reasons. “Many clients have been
brought to bankruptcy despite their best efforts,” said
Rogers. “It’s humbling, but also inspiring when I can help
turn things around for people.”
Rogers warns that the next crisis is around the corner,
and it is student loan debt, adding, “It’s very difficult to
discharge student loans.” CNBC reported that delinquency
in student loan payments surpassed that of credit card debt
for the first time in the third quarter of 2012. A menacing
combination of high debt and failure to earn the degree,
particularly among students who attended for-profit
colleges, is directly contributing to high nonpayment rates.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, students
attending for-profit colleges have double the default rate
of students who attended public universities. “Student loan
default is the next housing bubble, and now is the time to
prepare for it,” said Rogers.
Diana Santos Johnson ’09, Legal Aid of
North Carolina, Inc., Bankruptcy Law
Ciara L. Rogers ’09, Associate, Oliver
Freisen Cheek PLLC, Bankruptcy Law
10 of Counsel Readings and Features Readings and Features of Counsel 11
Hamilton looks forward to finding opportunities to give
back and to encourage greater minority participation in the
field of tax law. “The question becomes, how do you use your
influence and your position to have a greater influence in
your community?” said Hamilton. “You have to have meaning
to your life outside of your day-to-day job.”
Ann M. Shy
(Dispute Resolution)
Ann Shy’s original motivation to learn about the law was to
strengthen her arguments so that she could promote change
in health policy and regulation. With an executive master’s
degree in health policy and administration, she knows all
about objective science. She also knows that science can be
relegated to the back seat when legislating issues involving
sex, sexuality, and women’s health.
However, with Shy’s introduction to dispute resolution at
NCCU School of Law, she redirected her career to this
field of legal practice. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
seeks to avoid the typical adversarial approach and resolve
problems in a manner that better preserves the relationship
between the parties in conflict. “I focus on two things,”
said Shy, “the rules, and the dance of negotiation to move
everyone forward.” Still, when ADR fails, she does not
hesitate to take the fight to court.
Shy struggles with the inability of low-income clients to pay
for her services, saying, “There is no insurance card for legal
fees.” She finds herself subsidizing those who cannot pay the
high out-of-pocket costs. “It’s a challenge for me to keep a
good mix of clients and keep the lights on,” Shy said. She
explains that Legal Aid is so underfunded that its attorneys
can take only the most serious cases. “But routine separation
and divorce can really change people’s lives,” said Shy.
When Shy wants a break from legal disputes, she turns
to prisoner reentry mediation. She engages prisoners in
confidential discussions about the supportive relationships
they need in place to help ensure their successful transition
to life outside of prison. Then she brings them together with
their significant others to hammer out detailed behavioral and
outcome agreements, to be initiated upon their release. Shy
was awarded a grant to establish reentry mediation here in
North Carolina, modeled after a program in Maryland.
Now, Shy would like to bring together her skills in ADR and
her public health background to engage in conflict resolution
for FEMA during emergencies like our recent, devastating
storms. “When there is a crisis, you can’t afford to have
conflicts going on along the chain of command,” said Shy.
Olson completed her formal education at Georgetown
University Law Center, earning a master’s degree in law and
taxation. Next, she established the first low-income taxpayer
clinic in the country that was unaffiliated with a law school.
It was in this capacity that she was first called to testify before
Congress regarding the tax challenges faced by the poor, and it
led to her job as the nation’s advocate.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t confront the distrust that
results from how the IRS treats taxpayers,” Olson said. “But
I’m fortunate to be in a job where I can make a difference.”
Wayne A. S. Hamilton (Tax)
The Wal-Mart Corporation tends to dominate Fortune
magazine’s annual list of America’s largest companies, based
on gross income. According to dailyfinance.com, if Wal-Mart,
with its $400 billion in annual sales, were a country, it would
have the 25th largest economy in the world.
It should come as no surprise that Wal-Mart would have a
complex relationship with the IRS. Wayne Hamilton ’90 is the
man who mediates that “arranged marriage.” He supervises
Wal-Mart’s Compliance Assurance Process Audit or CAP.
Rather than hold the tax return until the deadline, Hamilton
conducts a continuous audit for Wal-Mart Stores in concert
with the IRS throughout the year. Certainty about Wal-
Mart’s tax liability in the future adds security to its planning
and decision-making in the present.
“As you complete significant transactions, you are also having
a discussion with the IRS at the same time,” explained
Hamilton. “Traditionally, audits are after the fact. In this case,
by allocating resources early, we are getting things done in
real time.” Hamilton has only three people on his team, but
he works with many cross-functional teams that submit to
his office income, employment, and excise tax information.
Hamilton earned his master’s degree in tax law from the
University of Florida, but he gives enormous credit for his
success to the four years he worked outside the practice of
law in a family-owned, automotive sales company, JM Family
Enterprises Inc. Prior to that experience, he encountered
business colleagues who questioned his decision-making
because his training was in the law rather than business. At
JM Family, “someone finally sat the leadership down and
let them know a law degree is akin to an MBA in terms of
processing information.”
Ann M. Shy ’09, Solo Practitioner, Ann
Shy Firm PLLC, Dispute Resolution
Wayne A. S. Hamilton ’90, Senior
Director, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Tax Law
Nina E. Olson ’91, National
Taxpayer Advocate, Tax Law
12 of Counsel Readings and Features Readings and Features of Counsel 13
Charles Hamilton Houston
Chair: John C. Brittain
NCCU School of Law is honored
to have John C. Brittain serving
as the Charles Hamilton Houston
Chair for constitutional and civil
rights law. Professor Brittain is
a strong advocate of civil rights
with an emphasis on pursuing the
comparability and competitiveness
for historically black colleges and
universities (HBCUs). Indeed, he
earned a bachelor’s degree (1966) and juris doctor (1969) from
Howard University. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut,
Mississippi, California, and associated federal courts. He is
currently a part of a legal team representing private plaintiffs
in a federal lawsuit against the State of Maryland, based upon
Maryland, denying certain historically Black institutions of
higher learning – Morgan, Coppin, Bowie, and Maryland
Eastern Shore Universities, comparable and competitive
opportunities with traditional white universities.
Brittain is a tenured professor of law at the University of the
District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law. In the
past, he has served as Dean of the Thurgood Marshall School
of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston, a veteran law
professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law for
22 years, and the Chief Counsel and Senior Deputy Director
of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in
Washington, D.C., a public interest legal organization started
by President John F. Kennedy to enlist private lawyers to take
pro bono cases in civil rights.
He also has been the president of the National Lawyers’ Guild,
a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of the
ACLU, a long-time member of the National Conference of
Black Lawyers (NCBL), and legal counsel to the NAACP at
the local level and national office of the General Counsel. In
1993, the NAACP awarded Professor Brittain the coveted
William Robert Ming Advocacy Award for legal service to the
NAACP without a fee. The Ming Award was named in honor
of a former African-American law professor at the University
of Chicago and a brilliant civil rights lawyer who closely
worked with Thurgood Marshall.
The Charles Hamilton Houston Endowed Chair was
established by Frank Anderson and Susan Powell to bring
a prominent civil rights law professor to the School of Law
to lecture in the areas of constitutional and civil rights law.
The Chair has been held by such attorneys as Judge Charles
Becton, Fred Gray, Julius Chambers, Alvin Chambliss, Jr., and
Janelle Byrd-Chichester.
NCCU School of Law Receives
Grant to Provide Foreclosure
Aid
The NCCU School of Law received $800,000 to provide
critical foreclosure assistance to individuals across North
Carolina. The funds are provided by the N.C. Housing Finance
Agency and originate from a landmark national mortgage
settlement with the country’s five largest loan servicers.
Through the new Consumer Financial Protection Clinic, the
law school will provide foreclosure defense and prevention
services to citizens in the Durham area and across the state
through its nationally recognized legal clinic and TALIAS
(Technology Assisted Legal Instruction and Services), a high
definition video-conferencing project. The TALIAS project
enables clinic attorneys to meet with clients at four partner
universities, Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, N.C.
A&T, and Winston-Salem State, as well as at Legal Aid and
Legal Services offices across the state.
“This grant builds on the foreclosure services the school
provided last year through TALIAS,” said Phyliss Craig-
Taylor, Dean of the School of Law. “It strengthens the law
school’s strong history of delivering legal and educational
services to economically and legally vulnerable communities.”
On November 7, 2012, NCCU School of Law students,
faculty, and staff had the privilege of engaging in an insightful
conversation with former NCCU Law Professor Susie Ruth
Powell about her role as co-author of HBO’s award-winning
documentary film, The Loving Story.
The film, which has also won a Peabody Award and received
three Emmy Award nominations, is based on the story of
Richard and Mildred Loving. The Lovings were an interracial
couple who lived in Virginia in the 1950s, and their legal
struggle to live as husband and wife. Powell discussed the
importance of the case, Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967),
a landmark civil rights decision of the United States Supreme
Court that invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage.
Powell shared insight into the making of the film and the
filmmaker’s successful efforts to document the personal
struggle and great sacrifice that the Lovings endured to live as
a married couple. She also shared clips from the program, and
told the rapt audience how the case was brought by Mildred
Loving, a Black woman, and Richard Loving, a White man,
who had been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for
marrying each other. Their marriage violated the state’s anti-miscegenation
statute, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which
prohibited marriage between people classified as “White”
and people classified as “Colored.” The Supreme Court’s
unanimous decision held this prohibition was unconstitutional,
overturning Pace v. Alabama (1883), and ending all race-based
legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.
Powell received her juris doctor from Case Western Reserve
in 1970 in the first wave of women law students and was
one of two black women to graduate. Soon after passing the
Ohio bar, she sued the United States on behalf of poor people
living in substandard federal housing in the case Garden Valley
Tenants Association v. James Lynn. Powell practiced poverty law
in North Carolina and Ohio, and taught contracts and trial
practice at NCCU School of Law. Powell is currently focusing
on a fictional account of the Wilmington Race Riots of 1898,
the seminal event that ushered in Jim Crow to North Carolina.
The Loving Story: A Conversation
with Susie Ruth Powell
John C. Brittain
Assistant Dean Pamela S. Glean ‘80 introduces Susie Ruth Powell
Faculty Spotlights of Counsel 15
Distinguished alumni award presented at the
first Legal Eagle Commencement Reunion
Professor Susan E. Hauser
received the 19th Annual Award for
Excellence in Teaching from the UNC
Board of Governors on May 11, 2013.
“This is really a tremendous honor,
and it is the highest award available to
me as a teacher. It is a university-level
teaching award, awarded to one person on each of the 17
UNC institutions every year.” Additionally, in October of
2012, Professor Hauser received the Editors’ Prize from the
American Bankruptcy Law Journal. “The ABLJ is a peer-reviewed
journal, and there actually is a Board of Editors
that votes on this prize. The Editors’ Prize is awarded to the
best article from the previous year, and this is the top thing
out there in the world of bankruptcy professors. I was happy
just to publish an article in this journal, and I was completely
floored to get this.”
Professor Irving Joyner
Operating under the theme that “Power
concedes nothing without a demand,”
the Institute of the Black World (IBW)
21st Century awarded Professor Irving
Joyner its Legacy Award during its
annual conference on November 17,
2012, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. This
Legacy Award specifically targeted Professor Joyner’s
successful efforts in pursuing and obtaining justice for the
Wilmington Ten and for his lifelong efforts and dedication to
civil rights and equal justice. The award was presented by Dr.
Ron Daniels, President of IBW.
Faculty
Spotlights
Professor Gregory Malhoit
was the December 2012 recipient of the
Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of the
most prestigious awards presented by
the governor to individuals who have a
proven record of extraordinary service
to the state. State employees can be
awarded the Order if they have contributed more than 30 years
of dedicated and enthusiastic service to the state of North
Carolina. Contributions to the community and extra effort in
their careers are some of the criteria for selection of recipients.
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
was named one of the 100 most
influential Black lawyers for 2013 in On
Being a Black Lawyer Power 100. She was
saluted, along with the other honorees,
for her efforts to advance diversity in the
legal profession.
16 of Counsel At School Now At School Now of Counsel 17
General Suter (center), Prof. April Dawson
(far right), and students at the Supreme Court
At School Now
The visit to the Supreme Court benefited us as students and
our law school. Professor Dawson, through her contacts
and networking with Supreme Court officials, was able to
obtain reserved seating for our class to hear oral arguments.
Observing these arguments reinforced what we had learned
during our in-class discussions about the workings of the
Court. Hearing the questions posed by the Justices during oral
argument helped me to realize that the level of preparation
for both the advocates and Justices is great. Additionally, it
made me appreciate that attorneys arguing a case (in any
court) needed to have knowledge beyond the particular
issues presented to be effective advocates. It gave me a new
appreciation for both the advocates and the Justices.
It was quite impressive that officials at the Supreme Court
took time out of their busy schedules to recognize us during
our visit. Professor Dawson’s continued interest in providing
our students with the opportunity to observe court proceedings
before our nation’s highest court does not go unappreciated.
We all have gained a great respect for this prestigious
institution that we study in great detail in many of our law
school courses. Our experiences at the Court could not have
been taught in a classroom or learned by reading a textbook.
Taking this course has inspired a new interest in appellate law,
and my trip to the Supreme Court will certainly inspire me in
my continued study of the law.
After this trip, we can all share our experiences with our fellow
students. Hopefully, they will be inspired to take the class and
the trip, as well.
PILO Auction
The Public Interest Law Organization hosted its first annual
silent auction and banquet in November at the law school.
The event allowed students, alumni, and PILO affiliates to
network and raise stipend funds for students interested in
public interest work.
Professor Gene Nichol, director of the UNC Center on
Work, Poverty and Opportunity, was the keynote speaker.
Items for auction were donated by law school professors
and local businesses. Donations included gift baskets, gift
cards from spas, basketball tickets, an iPod Touch, a $500
Kaplan bar prep scholarship for a 3L, and many lunches
and dinners by professors. The big ticket item was Professor
Fred Williams’ hair – he donated his locks to PILO. An
anonymous bidder won with a $200 bid and donated the
haircut to the PILO Board. The banquet was sponsored by
Attorney Geoffrey Simmons.
NCCU School of Law Voted
Most Popular by U.S. News &
World Report
NCCU School of Law was voted “Most Popular” by U.S.
News & World Report for a second consecutive year. The
law school was ranked number six, just behind Yale and
Harvard University. The ranking is an improvement from
last year, when it was ranked tenth.
The U.S. News surveys 200 fully ABA-accredited law
schools based on the school’s self-reported data regarding,
among other things, academic programs and makeup of the
student body.
Students Visit the
U.S. Supreme Court
Edited by Brenda D. Gibson ’95 Professor April Dawson’s Supreme Court Seminar class had the opportunity to
observe oral arguments firsthand this spring on a trip to the Supreme Court
arranged by Dawson. The students were also able to meet with the Clerk of the
Supreme Court, General William Suter. Attendee Kristi Strawbridge (Class of
2014) provided an account of her experience:
Professor Gene Nichol (center) with members of the PILO Board
Geoffrey Simmons, Professor Page Potter,
and Larry Brown Jr. at the PILO auction.
18 19
2013 Commencement
Ceremonies
Commencement exercises for the Class of 2013 were
held on May 11 at King’s Park International Church in
Durham. Vernon Jordan, lawyer, business executive, and
renowned civil rights activist, served as the keynote speaker.
Jordan is a leading figure in the civil rights movement, and
was chosen by President Bill Clinton as a close adviser. He
has become known as an influential figure in American
politics. Jordan spoke to the 156 graduates about his
career beginnings, the challenges he faced due to the social
climate of the time, and life lessons learned along the way.
Frances McDuffie ‘13 and Carol Mclean ‘13
Megan Albaugh ‘13, Dayo Aladeniyi ‘13, and Krystle Acevedo ‘13
James Smith ‘69, Ruth Franks ‘73, and Rev. Charles Miller ‘73
Vernon Jordan, Commencement Speaker Victoria Neal ‘13 and Nana Nti ‘13
20 of Counsel Alumni Events Alumni Events of Counsel 21
Alumni Receptions
With the gracious assistance of alumni, NCCU School of Law
hosted the following receptions this year:
Elizabeth City, NC
The Elizabeth City Alumni Reception, hosted by G. Wendell
Spivey ’76 and The Honorable J. Carlton Cole ’87, was held at
Montero’s Restaurant on October 2, 2012.
Fayetteville, NC
The Fayetteville Alumni Reception, hosted by Glenn Adams
’84 and Mike Williford ’83, was held at the law firm of Adams
Burge & Boughman on October 3, 2012.
Washington, D.C.
The Washington, D.C., Alumni Reception, hosted by Akela
Crawford ’11, Donna Douglas ’84, Stephen Redmon ’87, and
the Honorable Sommer Murphy ’08, was held at the 1331
Lounge & Bar at the JW Marriott on November 9, 2012.
Atlanta, GA
The Atlanta Alumni Reception, hosted by Senator Leroy
Johnson ’57, was held at his home on November 15, 2012.
Lumberton, NC
The Lumberton Alumni Reception, hosted by Arnold Locklear
’73, was held at Adelio’s Restaurant on December 6, 2012.
Raleigh, NC
The Triangle Alumni Reception (Raleigh, Durham, and
Chapel Hill alumni), hosted by Leonard Jernigan ’76, A.
Root Edmonson ’76, the Honorable Wanda Bryant ’82, the
Honorable Rick Elmore ’82, Victor Boone ’75, William
Dudley, Sr. ’76, Joe Mitchiner ’76, Jay Chaudhuri ’99, William
Polk ’99, Hugh Harris ’03, Robert L. Brown ’04, Sarah Carr
D’amato ’08, and Sarah Jessica Farber ’08, was held at the N.C.
Court of Appeals on April 10, 2013.
NCCU School of Law, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends welcomed Phyliss
Craig-Taylor as the new Dean with a reception on September 21, 2012. Dean
Craig-Taylor, a veteran educator, rejoined the law school after having served
as a professor of law from 2000-2006.
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor and Raleigh area alumni
Welcome Reception for Dean
Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Alumni
Events
Akela Crawford ’11, Stephen Redmon ’87,
and Hon. Sommer Murphy ‘08
Senator Leroy Johnson ’57 and Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Donald Gwin, Patsy Matthews ’86, Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor, and Gerald Taylor
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor with family
22 of Counsel Alumni Events Alumni Events of Counsel 23
Richmond, VA
The Richmond Alumni Reception, hosted by Tonnie
Villines ’88, was held at the Tobacco Company Restaurant
on April 12, 2013.
New Bern, NC
The New Bern Alumni Reception, hosted by Ciara Rogers
’09, Darnell Parker ’96, and Anita Powers-Branch ’84, was
held at the law firm of Oliver Friesen Cheek PLLC on
April 30, 2013.
Asheville, NC
The Asheville Alumni Reception, hosted by Eugene Ellison
’83, was held at Pack’s Tavern on May 3, 2013.
Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
The Greensboro/Winston-Salem Alumni Reception, hosted
by Charles Blackmon ’88, Angela Newell Gray ’94, and
Helen Parsonage ’06, was held at the Sheraton Four Seasons
on May 22, 2013.
Charlotte, NC
The Charlotte Alumni Reception, hosted by Bartina
Edwards ’04, Norman Butler ’78, Kenneth Snow ’00, and
Tanisha Johnson ’07, was held at the Judge Clifton E.
Johnson Building on May 29, 2013.
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor and New Bern area alumni
Participants in the first Legal Eagle Commencement Reunion: Ralph Frasier ’65, Beryl Sansom Gilmore ’70,
Anderson Council ‘69, Shelia Parrish-Spence ’72, Frank Ballance Jr. ‘65, E. Yvonne Pugh ’73, Timothy Crawford
’69, Charles Miller ’73, James Smith ’69, Ruth Franks ’73, A. Leon Stanback ’68, and Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
On Saturday, alumni attending the reunion were recognized
during the 2013 NCCU Law School Commencement
Exercises. Judge Beryl Sansom Gilmore ’70 brought
greetings to the graduates on behalf of attending alumni.
The commencement reunion culminated with a Carolina
BBQ jazz luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn. Thank you
to all of the alumni who attended and the class agents for
the reunion, Judge Sammie Chess, Jr. ’58, Judge A. Leon
Stanback ’68, and Judge Beryl Sansom Gilmore’70.
The reunion celebration for the classes of 1948-1973 began
with an awards banquet on Friday at the law school. Dean
Harry Groves served as the keynote speaker. Dean Groves,
while serving as Dean from 1976 until 1981, created the
evening program. Groves taught in all of the buildings that
have ever housed the law school, beginning in 1949. During
the banquet, the Distinguished Alumni Award was presented
to Senator Leroy R. Johnson ’57, Ralph K. Frasier ’65, and
Arnold Locklear ’65.
First Legal Eagle
Commencement Reunion
The North Carolina Central University School of Law held its First Legal Eagle
Commencement Reunion on May 10 and 11, 2013.
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor (center),
the host committee, and area alumni
Tonnie Villines ’88 (center), Dean Phyliss
Craig-Taylor, and area alumni
24 of Counsel Alumni Events Alumni News of Counsel 25
Senator Leroy Johnson ‘57, Hon. Sammie
Chess, Jr. ‘58, and Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Ralph Frasier, Jr. ‘94 with family and friends
Ruth Franks ‘73 and E. Yuonne Pugh ‘73
Senator Leroy Johnson ‘57
Senator Leroy Johnson ‘57, his wife Cleopatra Johnson,
Hon. Sammie Chess, Jr. ‘58, and his wife Sandra Chess
Nathan Baskerville ’06
was sworn in as the new state
representative for Vance, Granville, and
Warren counties on January 9, 2013,
in the N.C. House of Representatives.
His father, the Honorable Randolph
Baskerville ’76, read the oath of
office and officially swore in his son.
Afterward, Baskerville joined the other
Alumni
News
119 members of the House for the
official ceremony.
Baskerville will serve on the following
committees: Judiciary Subcommittee
C, Appropriation Subcommittee on
Transportation, Insurance, Regulatory
Reform, Agriculture, and Health and
Human Services.
Two NCCU Law School alumni were appointed to the Board of Directors for
the NOSSCR at their National Conference in Seattle, Washington. Lawrence
Wittenberg ’84 was reappointed as a representative of the Past Presidents Council.
Wittenberg was first elected from the Fourth Circuit in 1999 and served on the
Board of Directors as treasurer, secretary, vice president, and president. Rick Fleming ‘01 was
elected to the board as the new Fourth Circuit representative.
Alumni Appointed to Board
of Directors for the National
Organization of Social Security
Representatives (NOSSCR)
Hon. Randolph Baskerville ’76,
Sarah Baskerville, and Nathan
Baskerville ‘06
26 of Counsel Alumni News Alumni News of Counsel 27
DeWarren K. Langley ’11
was awarded the prestigious 2013
Outstanding Citizen Spectrum of
Democracy Award in honor of his
vital contributions to make North
Carolina’s democracy and government
better, specifically for his work to create
genuine and meaningful opportunities
to engage youth with policymakers
through the Durham Youth
Commission and Kids Voting Durham.
The Award was conferred by the North
Carolina Center for Voter Education
at the Raleigh Marriott City Center on
February 21, 2013.
Gale Murray Adams ’84
was elected as Superior Court Judge
for the 12th Judicial District of
North Carolina in the November
election. She was sworn in on January
4, 2013, at the Cumberland County
Courthouse. Adams served as a
federal public defender for nearly two
decades and ran unopposed in the
November election. She will replace
the Honorable Gregory Weeks, who
recently retired.
Emily Dickens ’02
accepted a position as Assistant Vice
President of Federal Relations for
the University of North Carolina
System. Dickens served as the Director
of Government and Community
Affairs for the Chancellor’s Office at
Fayetteville State University prior to
accepting the Assistant Vice
President position.
Paula Hankins ’94
was elected as District Court Judge
for the 13th Judicial District of North
Carolina in the November election.
She was sworn on January 2, 2013, at
the Brunswick County Courthouse.
Hankins has 18 years of progressive
legal experience, served as an arbitrator
judge for 13 years, was awarded the
2011 N.C. Governor’s Award for
Volunteer Service, and serves as
President of the Brunswick County
Bar Association.
Frank S. Turner ’73
will become the vice chairman of the
Ways and Means Committee in the
Maryland House of Delegates. Turner
has served as chair of the House
of Delegates’ Finance Resources
Subcommittee since 2007.
Aliste Harris ’09
accepted a position at the Southern
Environmental Law Center in the
Atlanta office. Harris, who also has
a bachelor’s degree from Spelman
College and a master’s of public
administration from Kennesaw
State University, has worked as an
attorney in the Tort Litigation and
Environmental Practice Group at
King & Spalding’s Atlanta office since
2010. Prior to that, she was a law
clerk at the White House Council
on Environmental Quality, summer
associate at Smith, Gambrell &
Russell, and a judicial intern with the
North Carolina Court of Appeals. She
is also on the Georgia Conservancy
Generation Green’s Board.
Chandler Vatavuk ’07
has been named as one of the Ten
Outstanding Young Americans
(TOYA) of 2012 by the Jaycees. The
TOYA Award recognizes those aged
18 to 40 who exemplify the best
our country offers and has included
Presidents John F. Kennedy, Gerald
Ford, and Bill Clinton. Vatavuk’s work
as an advocate for at-risk youth was
specifically honored.
LaKeisha Randall ’11
accepted the position of Senior Law
Clerk at the Municipal Court for the
City of Atlanta, where she will support
all seven judges of the court. Randall
has also recently published her first
article through the American Bar
Association’s litigation section, and is
writing a full-length article on class
actions in the fall.
William S. Eubanks II ’07
was recently invited to join the faculty
of American University’s Washington
College of Law as an adjunct associate
professor of law, where he will be
teaching a course on environmental
law and agricultural policy. Eubanks
is also an adjunct law professor at
Vermont Law School and an attorney
at one of the nation’s leading public
interest environmental law firms,
Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, in
Washington, D.C.
Dale Deese ’89
was the 2012 recipient of the Deborah
Greenblatt Outstanding Legal
Services Attorney Award presented
at the Pro Bono Service Awards
in June at the North Carolina Bar
Association’s annual meeting in
Wilmington. Deese is the senior
managing attorney for Legal Aid of
North Carolina in the Pembroke office,
and serves on the United Tribes of
North Carolina Board and the North
Carolina Indian Business Association.
Michael R. Morgan ’79
was recently entered into the National
Judicial College’s Hall of Honor for 20
consecutive years of faculty teaching
longevity at the National Judicial
College (NJC). Judge Morgan is a
Superior Court judge in the General
Court of Justice for the State of North
Carolina, and is the first and only judge
from North Carolina to have 15 or
more years of service on the faculty at
the NJC and to be recognized on the
Hall of Honor.
Brian O. Beverly ’95
was selected for a second consecutive
year as a “Super Lawyer” in the
North Carolina Super Lawyers 2013
publication. Beverly centers his practice
on the defense of transportation
liability claims involving large
commercial vehicles, insurance
coverage litigation and medical
negligence cases at Young Moore
and Henderson, P.A. in Raleigh.
Super Lawyers is a rating service of
outstanding lawyers from more than
70 practice areas who have attained
a high degree of peer recognition
and professional achievement. The
selection process is multi-phased and
includes independent research, peer
nominations, and peer evaluations.
Jade M. Cobb ’08
has joined Littler Employment &
Labor Solutions Worldwide. Cobb
focuses her practice on employment
law and employment discrimination
litigation. She represents employers in
the litigation of claims arising under
federal and state law. Prior to joining
Littler, Cobb was an associate at
another labor and employment firm.
During law school, she completed
an externship with the Honorable
Judge Richard A. Elmore at the North
Carolina Court of Appeals. She also
completed a legal internship with a
world wide tire manufacturer.
Lorrie L. Dollar ’84
was named chief deputy secretary of
administration for the Department
of Public Safety by Secretary Kieran
Shanahan. In private practice, Dollar
handled administrative and civil
litigation, and transactional matters
with the law firm of Stephenson, Gray
and Waters. She was also appointed to
the Dispute Resolution Commission
in 2012, and has served as chief deputy
state auditor, deputy commissioner
with the N.C. Industrial Commission,
and a staff attorney with the
Department of Human Resources.
Brian O. Beverly ‘95
Hon. Paula Hankins ‘94
Hon. Gale Murray Adams ‘84
28 of Counsel Donor List Donor List of Counsel 29
Donor List
$10,000-more
Atiba Adams ‘96
John D Fassett
Smith/Shaver Law School
Scholarship Fund, Inc.
$9,000-$5,000
Dominique Camm ‘09
Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Sharif A. Deveaux ‘10
Marvin D. Genzer
Clayton L. Jones ‘85
Lawyers Mutual Liability
Insurance
Jessica M. Major ‘09
Daron D. Satterfield ‘02
Mary D. Stevenson ‘75
Priscilla H. Wallace
Wal-Mart Foundation
$4,999-$2,500
Sammie Chess Jr. ‘58
Everett K. Chandler ‘97
Ronald S. Douglas ‘82 &
Wanda Bryant ‘82
Grady Jessup ‘86
Dara M. Kendall ‘97
Charles E. Smith
Milton A. Tingling ‘82
Monte D. Watkins ‘84
$2,499-$1,000
Glenn Adams ‘84 &
Gale M. Adams ‘84
John Barbee
Danielle T. Bennett ‘99
Norman Butler ‘78
John B. Carter Jr. ‘79
Henry C. Campen ‘86
Bert Collins ‘70
A. Wayland Cooke ‘76
Thomas F. Cuffie ‘78
Alvin H. Darden ‘77
Harold T. Epps
Anthony Fox ‘82
Ralph K. Frasier Jr. ‘94
Nathan T. Garrett ‘86 &
Wanda J. Garrett ‘86
Kenneth D. Gibbs Sr. ‘94
David A. Green
Harry E. Groves
Delores James
Jessie A. Jeffers ‘94
Leonard T. Jernigan Jr. ‘76
Leroy R. Johnson ‘57
Kya J. Johnson ‘04
Irving Joyner
David F Kirby
Arnold Locklear ‘73
Mark D. Locklear ‘96
James A. Mack ‘69
Mark W. Morris ‘82 &
Angela W. Morris ‘03
Carolyn B. O’Garro-Moore ‘87
Jane E. Pearce ‘98
Raymond C. Pierce
Marshall B. Pitts Jr. ‘90
Jimonique S. Rodgers ‘96
James E. Rogers ‘87
Lowell L. Siler ‘79
Maceo K. Sloan ‘79
Maurice R. Smith ‘05
Kia H. Vernon ‘00
Fred A. Whitfield ‘88
Michael L. Williford ‘83
Mary E. Wright
$999-$500
Cheryl E. Amana
John K. Bramble ‘05
Frances S. Bynum ‘82
Timothy L. Coggins ‘84
J. Carlton Cole ‘87
Leigh A. Dasher ‘09
William A. Dudley Sr. ‘76
Eugene W. Ellison ‘83
Karen Frasier Alston ‘94
Catherine S. Frederick
Angela D. Gilmore
Pamela S. Glean ‘80
Anissa N. Graham-Davis ‘10
Theodore A. Greve ‘93
Susan Hauser
Roland H. Hayes ‘71
James R. Hill ‘75
Kimball H. Hunt ‘74
Deborah M. Jefferies ‘76
Paul L. Jones ‘74
Kirby & Holt Foundation
Angela G. McIver ‘01
Adrienne L. Meddock ‘91
Joseph H. Mitchiner ‘76
Walter H. Nunnallee
Dwight D. Perry
Nichelle J. Perry ‘93 &
Alexander S. Perry ‘93
Timothy J. Peterkin ‘04
David O. Prince ‘76
Vivian M. Redd Leavens ‘08
Thomas M. Ringer Jr.
Anitra D. Royster ‘02
Wendy Scott
Geoffrey H. Simmons
Aaron Spaulding
A. Leon Stanback Jr. ‘68
Gwendolyn C. Walker ‘96
Judith E. Washington ‘77
Lisa H. Wilks ‘96 &
Brian C. Wilks ‘96
William T. Wilson Jr. ‘76
Maxine Wright
Pamela Thorpe Young ‘85
& Reuben F. Young ‘85
$499-$100
William D. Acton, Jr. ‘77
Willa Adams
Joseph B. Agusta ‘97
Benjamin G. Alford ‘78
Sonya M. Allen ‘99
Britton H. Allen ‘06
Edward M. Anderson Sr. ‘76
Charlene Y. Armstrong ‘96
Cinque Axam ‘07
Debbie G. Baker ‘94
Camille D. Banks-Payne ‘01
Shelly Bao ‘06
Melaniece M. Bardley
McKnight ‘03
Braxton H. Bell ‘89
Albert M. Benshoff ‘93
Dorothy C. Bernholz ‘75
Brian O. Beverly ‘95
Bishop & Smith, PLLC
Mark H. Black ‘91
Charles K. Blackmon ‘88
Oscar M. Blanks III ‘10
Victor J. Boone ‘75
Donna K. Bott
Renee L. Bowser ‘82
Benn A. Brewington III ‘06
Thomas E. Brewington Jr. ‘98
Dedrick Brittenum Jr. ‘82
Larry D. Brown Jr. ‘08
Henry Brown
Lynn M. Burke ‘10
Gwendolyn F. Burrell ‘93
Potso Byndon ‘11
Janell Byrd-Chichester
Arien P. Cannon ‘11
Amanda C. Cnatrell ‘87
David Chambers ‘79
Julius L. Chambers
Ertle K. Chavis ‘73
William H. Christy ‘89
Todd Clark
Joseph P. Clark ‘93
Theaosues T. Clayton ‘58
Irma C. Clement ‘94
Andrew C. Clifford ‘04
Blair E. Cody III ‘00
Julia H. Cofield ‘76
Kimberly Cogdell
M. Elizabeth K. Collins ‘05
Donald W. Corbett
Shednichole M. Cotton ‘08
Kathryn L. Coulter ‘05
Jabari B. Craddock ‘12
Michael D. Crim ‘94
Joel C. Cunningham ‘97
April Dawson
Anne H. Daye
Kathryn C. DeAngelo ‘84
Dale G. Deese ‘89
Ernest L. Dessausure ‘96
Emily M. Dickens ‘02
Edward D. Dilone ‘03
Joan B. DiNapoli ‘87
Judith A. Dobbin ‘86
T. Greg Doucette ‘12
Donna Douglas ‘84
Frances Dyer ‘76
Brenda Eaddy ‘93
A. Root Edmonson ‘76
Shelley Lucas Edwards
Roberta L. Edwards-Mills ‘85
Richard A. Elmore ‘82
Brian Elston ‘09
Patricia D. Evans ‘83
James H. Faison III ‘87
Linda L. Falls ‘87
William M. Farris ‘01
Russell W. Fergusson ‘08
Sylvia C. Fields
Jane F. Finch ‘78
Wallace W. Finlator Jr. ‘87
Dayle A. Flammia ‘80
Rick W. Fleming ‘01
Jeanne B. Ford ‘98
Constance L. Foster ‘92
Christy L. Foster ‘04
Richard K. Foster ‘73
Ira L. Foster ‘88
Kevin C. Foy ‘94
Ruth E. Franks ‘73
Ralph K. Frasier ‘65
Ingrid Friesen
Ernest B. Fullwood ‘72
Justin Yang Gao ‘11
Stephen T. Gheen ‘84
Brenda D. Gibson ‘95
Iris W. Gilchrist
Beryl Sansom Gilmore ‘70
Philip P. Godwin Jr. ‘78
Cy A. Grant Sr. ‘81
Rosiland T. Grant ‘82
Iris P. Green ‘01
Nichole B. Greene ‘06
Gum, Hillier & McCroskey, PA
Mary J. Gurganus ‘05
Charles R. Gurley ‘90
Emily K. Hales ‘09
David W. Hands ‘02
Pauline Hankins ‘94
Arlene Hanks ‘96
Paul A. Hardison ‘84
Teresa Hardison
Deborah Hargett-Robinson ‘90
John H. Harmon ‘65
George W. Harris Jr. ‘67
Malcolm E. Harris ‘75
John Christopher Heagarty ‘10
Arnold R. Henderson ‘84
John F. Hester ‘75
Tracy H. Hewett ‘04
Commencement Reunion Honorees Ralph Frasier ‘65, Sen. Leroy Johnson ‘57,
Arnold Locklear ‘73, Sammie Chess, Jr. ‘58, and A. Leon Stanback ‘68
30 of Counsel Donor List Donor List of Counsel 31
Charles H. Holmes ‘75
Donnie Hoover ‘74
Randall R. Howell ‘09
F. Warren Hughes ‘81
Anna W. Humphrey ‘06
Olivia J. Hyatt ‘08
Simone N. Hylton ‘08
Susan T. Iddings ‘84
Diane G. Jacoby ‘88
Craig James ‘96
E. Ann Hill Jefferson ‘84
Marion Jervay
Charles H. Jurman ‘72
Eleanor G. Kinnaird ‘92
John W. Kirkman Jr. ‘76
James C. Lamb IV ‘86
Laura J. Lamkin ‘93
Lydia E. Lavelle ‘93
L. Brent Lawrence ‘76
Tamara Y. Lee ‘84
Jennifer Lee ‘01
Romeo H. Lewis II ‘72
Ola M. Lewis ‘90
Stephanie M. Locke ‘10
Kim Luckes ‘82
James E. Martin ‘75
Dennis G. Martin ‘93
John Mason
Patsy Matthews ‘86
Nancy Mayer ‘06
Steven A. McCloskey ‘99
Lawrence T. McPhail ‘11
Joyce W. Michaux ‘76
Charles B. Miller ‘73
Richard Miller ‘75
Reginald Mombrun ‘88
Vaughn S. Monroe ‘03
Kimberly A. Moore ‘94
Lisa G. Morgan
Herman J. Morris ‘10
Victor A. Motley ‘81
Nelwyn J. Mpare ‘80
Deedee Nachman ‘96
Daniel J. Nagle ‘08
Sable K. Nelson
Elizabeth Q. Newman
Tammy D. Nicholson ‘99
Joel N. Oakley ‘86
Mary R. O’Driscoll
Chimezie T. Okobi ‘11
Nina E. Olson ‘91
Henry W. Oxendine ‘73
Page & Rogers, P.A.
Regina R. Parker ‘92
John R. Parker Jr. ‘08
Phillip J. Parker Jr. ‘10
E. F. Parnell III
Christopher F. Peffley ‘04
William T. Peregoy ‘90
Steven B. Phillips ‘93
Ronald J. Pitts Sr. ‘69
C. Ruffin Poole ‘98
Page Potter
Robert L. Potter ‘73
Anita R. Powers-Branch ‘84
Eric E. Pridgen ‘03
George E. Pruden II ‘81
E. Yvonne Pugh ‘73
Qualcomm Foundation
Cindi M. Quay ‘00
Robert Quigley
Harvey W. Raynor III ‘80
Stephen T. Redmon ‘87
Brandi S. Reeves ‘08
Jamal Rhinehardt ‘03
Linda Seay Robertson ‘04
Sharika M. Robinson ‘12
Darrell L. Robinson ‘05
Brandon A. Robinson ‘13
Franklin L. Robinson Jr. ‘93
Ciara L. Rogers ‘09
Craigie D. Sanders ‘00
Terri W. Sharp ‘00
Thomas M. Shuford Jr. ‘73
C. Miller Sigmon Jr. ‘86
Fern Gunn Simeon
Cynthia Simoni
Travis H. Simpson ‘97
Raymond Sitar ‘72
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Truth and Service

The Magazine of North Carolina Central University School of Law
Stories from the Practice Front: Civil, Criminal, Bankruptcy, Tax, and Dispute Resolution
Our Students at the Supreme Court
First Legal Eagle Commencement Reunion
Building on
the Legacy
Producing Practice-Ready Attorneys
North Carolina Central University Volume 15 school of law
of Counsel 3
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Readings and Features
04 Letter from the Dean
05 Practice-Ready Attorneys
12 Susie Ruth Powell and “The Loving Story”
13 John Britton, Charles Hamilton Houston Chair
13 Foreclosure Grant
ofCOUNSEL
At School Now
16 Supreme Court Trip
18 Most Popular US News & World Report
18 PILO Auction
20 Graduation
Also In This Issue
15 Faculty Spotlights
25 Alumni News
28 Donor List
The NCCU School of Law
publishes the of Counsel magazine.
This publication is supported by a
Title III grant. Thirty six hundred
fifty copies of this issue were
printed at the cost of $4.99 each.
of Counsel is a magazine for alumni
and friends of North Carolina Central
University School of Law.
Volume 15 / Spring 2013
of Counsel is published by the NCCU
School of Law for alumni, friends, and
members of the law community.
Dean
Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Former Director of Development
Delores James
Editor
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Email: carissa.burroughs@nccu.edu
Web Site: law.nccu.edu
Alumni Events
22 Dean’s Welcome Reception
22 Alumni Receptions
24 First Legal Eagle Commencement Reunion
Table of Contents
Legal Eagle Alumni Awards
4 of Counsel Readings and Features of Counsel 5
Letter from
the Dean
Dear Alumni:
As I complete my first year as Dean of your law school, I want
to thank you for the tremendous support and the well wishes
that you have shared with me as I endeavor to follow in a
tradition of great service to our students. I am truly honored
to be the Dean of North Carolina Central University School
of Law and have the opportunity to be part of building on the
great legacy that defines our school. My first year has been a
year of immense accomplishment, change, and opportunities.
In January, we were privileged to receive an $800,000 grant to provide critical foreclosure assistance to individuals across North
Carolina. The funds were provided by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency and originated from a landmark national mortgage
settlement with the country’s five largest loan servicers. This is indeed a great accomplishment that will enable us to provide critical
legal services to our surrounding communities. In March, U.S. News & World Report ranked NCCU School of Law the sixth most
popular law school in the nation. The most popular ranking is based on the percentage of accepted applicants that enroll. In addition,
your law school also ranked number four in clinical opportunities and was lauded as one of the most diverse law schools.
This year, we welcomed three new members to our administrative staff. Donald R. Corbett, an award-winning professor, now serves as
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and teaches in the areas of Torts, Advanced Torts, and Critical Race Theory. Our new Associate
Dean for Finance and Administration is Frank Toliver Jr. Prior to joining the law school, he served as Vice President for Business
and Finance at The Charlotte School of Law and has held senior financial positions in other institutions of higher education. Laura
Shepherd Brooks is our new Associate Dean of Student Services. Prior to joining NCCU School of Law, she served as a Director of
Academic Affairs at New York Law School and Assistant Secretary to the New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners.
Finally, I want to share with you the tremendous opportunity we have to impact our greatest asset, our students. We are currently
enhancing our bar exam preparatory program to achieve record breaking bar passage numbers by the year 2016. This year, Kelly
Burgess ’06 joined us as our Director of Bar Preparation. In this capacity, Attorney Burgess is working with our students beginning in
the 1L year to prepare them to pass the bar. In addition, we are enhancing our curriculum to support bar exam success.
Thank you for helping to make my first year as Dean a year of great achievement.
In Truth and Service,
Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Dean and Professor of Law
Readings
& Features
Willie E. Gary (Civil)
Willie Gary chose the law instead of armed resistance to the
racism he endured growing up in the 1950s South. Although
he has achieved the pinnacle of success as head of his own
national firm of Gary, Williams, Finney, Lewis, Watson &
Sperando, P.L., Gary is no less passionate about the fight for
justice today than he ever was, regardless of the race of the
injured party. “I fight for their rights, to stop suffering, and to
bring major corporations down to their knees when they’re
caught doing wrong,” said Gary.
His firm litigates civil cases in 45 states and has earned
numerous multi-million dollar settlements — none more
spectacular than Gary’s $500 million verdict in O’Keefe v.
Loewen. The Loewen Group was the second-largest funeral
home corporation in North America until it was found to
have engaged in predatory business practices against local
businessman Jeremiah O’Keefe of Biloxi, Mississippi. The
Loewen Group had the opportunity to settle for $5 million,
but the company chose to contest the case against O’Keefe in a
Jackson court, with Gary serving as opposing counsel.
In reference to his media venture, the Black Family Channel,
which has been fraught with public discord between Gary
and some of his high-profile partners, Gary acknowledged the
Willie E. Gary ’74, The Gary Law Group, Civil Litigation error in thinking “that because you’re good at law, you’re good
Practice-Ready
Attorneys Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
6 of Counsel Readings and Features Readings and Features of Counsel 7
that he attended when he was just starting out. “You got
to meet the Chamberses, the Bectons, and the Timmons-
Goodsons of the world,” said Adams. “Those face-to-face
meetings were monumentally helpful to me.”
James D. “Butch” Williams
(Criminal)
When the call went out to the School of Law alumni to
suggest who should receive recognition as one of the top
practicing attorney in their ranks, the answer came back
resoundingly in favor of choosing James D. “Butch” Williams.
Williams seemed destined for greatness early on. As a third-year
law student, when he had trouble reaching Attorney
Kenneth Spaulding to request an internship, Williams waited
for hours to speak with the senior partner as he left his office
one evening. Spaulding agreed to take him on, saying, “Anyone
who was that drive deserved the placement.”
With his law degree in hand, Williams was immediately
admitted to the bar, and then the U.S. Marine Corps as an
infantry officer and judge advocate. When his tour ended,
Spaulding welcomed him back as an associate. “Within one
year, I made him a partner,” said Spaulding. “That’s how
good he was.”
In part, this is why it was important to Adams to manage his
own practice. He said, “I always thought there should be a firm
in which African-Americans were up front as an example and
role model.” Adams is called upon to represent his community
by politicians and colleagues in the legal profession, and
asked for advice and counsel on almost any subject by fellow
African-Americans.
There is a downside. “You’re always on,” said Adams. “Black
lawyers are always on duty. Other attorneys don’t get that.”
Adams represents defendants in criminal, juvenile, and traffic
court. His busy days begin with staff and client meetings
before court at 9:00 a.m. Often, there are negotiations with
district attorneys until the mid-afternoon, and then it’s back
to the office for a wrap-up with staff on case progress, and
more meetings with clients. Evenings are spent participating
in community meetings or events. Former Governor Jim Hunt
recognized Adams’ unselfish commitment to service with the
award of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 1998.
Now and in the future, Adams intends to focus more of his
attention on the needs of young black lawyers. He organizes
monthly forums to teach them about the business and
operational side of the practice, and also to dispel courtroom
myths. He is attempting to re-create something akin to the
meetings of the North Carolina Black Lawyers Association
law cases. “It’s high drama from morning till night,” said Ellis.
“The real key to survive is to be ready for anything, anticipate
everything, and shut it off at 5:00 p.m.” He contrasts his
calm professionalism with the tendency of some attorneys to
identify with their clients’ positions, and yell and scream at
opposing counsel. “You can’t do that,” said Ellis. “It shouldn’t
be personal to us. When you lose that distance, you can’t give
the best advice.”
It is the breadth of his experiences that surprises Ellis. When
he began practicing, he thought he would work primarily
in the background, in the role of mediator. While he does
engage in mediation, he is making a name for himself as a
litigator. Ellis was lead counsel in a case presented to the
North Carolina Court of Appeals that resulted in a new
interpretation of divorce law. Until Ellis’ appeal, divorcing
couples had to wait until one of the pair had vacated the
matrimonial home before a pronouncement could be made
regarding the initial custody and support of children. Now, that
determination can be made in advance of the legal separation,
ensuring greater certainty and a smoother transition for
the children. Ellis is currently pursuing a similar precedent
regarding the “bed and board” provision of divorce law that
would enable one spouse to force out the spouse who has
committed marital misconduct but refuses to leave.
Given his even temperament and penchant for scholarly work,
everyone should watch out for this soaring Eagle. Ellis may
someday grace the bench or a classroom podium.
Glenn Adams (Criminal)
As a senior partner in a law firm in one of Fayetteville’s leading
law firms, Glenn Adams is expected to assume a leadership
role in the community. As an African-American senior partner,
that responsibility is magnified tenfold. Adams understands
and accepts the mantle of service. He was inspired to study
law by the presence of Judge Arthur Lane, a Black civil rights
attorney living in his neighborhood when he was growing up.
at everything else.” He said, “To go into the TV business was
probably the worst decision I ever made.… I am a lawyer, a
trial lawyer. I was born to try cases.”
In that arena, Gary is as busy as ever. His office serves 1,000
clients and fields up to 1,300 calls a day, many of them
seeking Gary’s personal attention. His days are full interacting
with plaintiffs and staff, and traveling. “It’s Savannah today,
mediation in Houston later this week, Phoenix for another
mediation, and a trial in Jacksonville, Florida.”
When asked for a final comment, he answered, “I’m Willie
Gary, sharecropper’s son. I went to NCCU School of Law and
look at me now. I have lawyers working for me from Harvard,
Yale, and Princeton, and who signs their paychecks?”
Gray Ellis (Civil)
Gray Ellis’ goal was always to become a family lawyer. He
wanted to help families cope with crises that were often the
worst times in their lives, in whatever way best protected the
children. He worked briefly as an attendant at a mental health
facility and then as a juvenile court counselor prior to enrolling
at NCCU School of Law. With his law degree in hand, Ellis
began a family law practice that has earned him recognition
as a rising star in the field. He attributes his success to his
ability to keep above the emotional fray that attends family
James D. “Butch” Williams ’79, Senior Partner, The
Law Offices of James D. Williams Jr., Criminal Law
Gray Ellis ’01, Founder, Ellis Family Law
Glenn Adams ’84, Senior Partner, Adams,
Burge & Boughman, PLLC, Criminal Law
8 of Counsel Readings and Features Readings and Features of Counsel 9
Diana Santos Johnson
(Bankruptcy)
“I didn’t come from a family of lawyers, so I didn’t really know
what one did,” said Diana Santos Johnson. It was not until
an internship at the Land Loss Prevention Project that she
learned how she could help people as a lawyer by using the law
to preserve property that had been in families for generations.
She found it so rewarding, she returned to Land Loss after
graduation from NCCU School of Law. As an attorney there,
she learned how bankruptcy laws — particularly Chapter 12 —
can assist farmers to restructure their debt and avoid the loss of
their family farms.
The experience at Land Loss inspired Johnson’s interest and
current work in foreclosure prevention and defense at Legal Aid
of North Carolina, Inc. “Our clients are right on the cusp of
losing their homes,” said Johnson. She spends most of her days
on the phone with banks to arrange loan modifications, in court
representing homeowners at foreclosure hearings, or evaluating
them for bankruptcy with the ultimate goal of saving their
home. Johnson finds foreclosure prevention work satisfying
because it results in “more success and happier clients” than she
encounters with some of the other cases she pursues.
In addition to mortgage foreclosure and bankruptcy work,
Johnson also handles other civil cases involving unemployment
insurance benefits, public benefits, and housing matters for
clients who may not have knowledge or understanding of their
rights in these areas. “As long as the economy is in crisis,” said
Johnson, “there are many more people who qualify for our
services than we can begin to assist.”
In 2007, the Raleigh News & Observer stated that for every
client served, eight were turned away, and that was before the
foreclosure crisis. “We accept cases according to a triage system
of guidelines and cannot help everyone who qualifies for our
services,” said Johnson. “Most people don’t realize that there’s
no guarantee of legal services for civil matters. You have no
right to an attorney to help you save your home.”
Nina E. Olson (Tax)
Nina Olson began her professional career as an artist, and she
plans to return one day to designing textiles and clothing. For
now, she serves at the pleasure of the Secretary of the Treasury.
As the National Taxpayer Advocate, she is the lone voice at
the IRS speaking on behalf of the American taxpayer in her
testimony and twice-yearly report to Congress. In the Annual
Report of December 2012, Olson railed against the 4-million-word
tax code, and decried Congress’s propensity to cut the
only unit of government that returns seven dollars for every
dollar invested. She told Congress that underfunding the IRS
also cripples responsiveness to the taxpayer who may have
been the victim of identity theft or a mistaken assessment,
increasing cynicism and decreasing compliance.
The journey from starving artist to head of a government
unit of 2,200 employees began with that byzantine tax code.
Olson learned to navigate the tax return as a self-employed
artist, and became the go-to person for tax assistance in her
artistic community. That facility turned into a small business
in tax preparation. She enrolled in law school to gain a greater
understanding of the code, and she chose NCCU for the
flexibility of our evening program. “The Law School at NCCU
really did make it possible for a single parent to go to law
school,” said Olson. “It was hard and long, but it was the only
way I could have become a lawyer.”
Williams remained with Spaulding for 10 years and opened
his own practice in criminal, sports, and entertainment law
in 1996. He was one of the defense attorneys in the Duke
lacrosse, Michael Vick, and Wesley Snipes cases, and he has
represented numerous NFL and NBA draft picks and Pro
Bowl players. Despite a recent illness, Williams was engaged in
the NFL draft again this year.
“As much as he is a great lawyer, he’s even a greater person,”
said Lowell Siler ’79, classmate, friend, and former colleague.
“It’s remarkable how much free legal services he has provided
to NCCU students and to so many others who needed his
help.” Siler attributes Williams’ success to this generous spirit,
his striving for perfection, and his impeccable honesty and
integrity. “Young lawyers may think that the way to success is
to be slick, fast, and loose with the truth,” said Siler, “but the
way Butch did it was the right way — by being totally honest.”
While classmate and NCCU School of Law Assistant Dean
Pamela Glean ’79 appreciates Williams’ nearly 20 years
of service as an adjunct professor, she claims his greatest
accomplishment to date is his recovery, “Now, he’s tackling his
illness just like everything else in his life — full steam ahead.”
Ciara L. Rogers (Bankruptcy)
As a child, Ciara Rogers wanted to be a doctor; that is, until
she learned that doctors have to give shots and look at blood.
At that point, Rogers quickly moved to the next profession on
her list and decided to become a lawyer.
Rogers came to NCCU School of Law with the intention to
study small business law until she took a class with Associate
Professor Susan Hauser. Hauser’s passion for bankruptcy
changed the direction of Rogers’ career. “Bankruptcy touches
on every other aspect of the law and it never gets
boring,” said Rogers.
Shortly after graduation, Rogers clerked for Bankruptcy
Court Judges J. Rich Leonard and Randy Doub, and was
subsequently invited to join the law firm of Oliver Friesen
Cheek PLLC, in New Bern, North Carolina. “Our cases don’t
fit the stereotype of people who’ve run up their credit card
debt frivolously,” said Rogers.
With the onset of the subprime mortgage crisis, Rogers’
clients include commercial and residential builders and
building supply company owners, couples undergoing
divorce, retirees who lost the corpus of their retirement
fund, and those with serious medical conditions who lost
their health insurance when they lost their jobs. Rogers
knows that people find themselves in need of bankruptcy
relief for all kinds of reasons. “Many clients have been
brought to bankruptcy despite their best efforts,” said
Rogers. “It’s humbling, but also inspiring when I can help
turn things around for people.”
Rogers warns that the next crisis is around the corner,
and it is student loan debt, adding, “It’s very difficult to
discharge student loans.” CNBC reported that delinquency
in student loan payments surpassed that of credit card debt
for the first time in the third quarter of 2012. A menacing
combination of high debt and failure to earn the degree,
particularly among students who attended for-profit
colleges, is directly contributing to high nonpayment rates.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, students
attending for-profit colleges have double the default rate
of students who attended public universities. “Student loan
default is the next housing bubble, and now is the time to
prepare for it,” said Rogers.
Diana Santos Johnson ’09, Legal Aid of
North Carolina, Inc., Bankruptcy Law
Ciara L. Rogers ’09, Associate, Oliver
Freisen Cheek PLLC, Bankruptcy Law
10 of Counsel Readings and Features Readings and Features of Counsel 11
Hamilton looks forward to finding opportunities to give
back and to encourage greater minority participation in the
field of tax law. “The question becomes, how do you use your
influence and your position to have a greater influence in
your community?” said Hamilton. “You have to have meaning
to your life outside of your day-to-day job.”
Ann M. Shy
(Dispute Resolution)
Ann Shy’s original motivation to learn about the law was to
strengthen her arguments so that she could promote change
in health policy and regulation. With an executive master’s
degree in health policy and administration, she knows all
about objective science. She also knows that science can be
relegated to the back seat when legislating issues involving
sex, sexuality, and women’s health.
However, with Shy’s introduction to dispute resolution at
NCCU School of Law, she redirected her career to this
field of legal practice. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
seeks to avoid the typical adversarial approach and resolve
problems in a manner that better preserves the relationship
between the parties in conflict. “I focus on two things,”
said Shy, “the rules, and the dance of negotiation to move
everyone forward.” Still, when ADR fails, she does not
hesitate to take the fight to court.
Shy struggles with the inability of low-income clients to pay
for her services, saying, “There is no insurance card for legal
fees.” She finds herself subsidizing those who cannot pay the
high out-of-pocket costs. “It’s a challenge for me to keep a
good mix of clients and keep the lights on,” Shy said. She
explains that Legal Aid is so underfunded that its attorneys
can take only the most serious cases. “But routine separation
and divorce can really change people’s lives,” said Shy.
When Shy wants a break from legal disputes, she turns
to prisoner reentry mediation. She engages prisoners in
confidential discussions about the supportive relationships
they need in place to help ensure their successful transition
to life outside of prison. Then she brings them together with
their significant others to hammer out detailed behavioral and
outcome agreements, to be initiated upon their release. Shy
was awarded a grant to establish reentry mediation here in
North Carolina, modeled after a program in Maryland.
Now, Shy would like to bring together her skills in ADR and
her public health background to engage in conflict resolution
for FEMA during emergencies like our recent, devastating
storms. “When there is a crisis, you can’t afford to have
conflicts going on along the chain of command,” said Shy.
Olson completed her formal education at Georgetown
University Law Center, earning a master’s degree in law and
taxation. Next, she established the first low-income taxpayer
clinic in the country that was unaffiliated with a law school.
It was in this capacity that she was first called to testify before
Congress regarding the tax challenges faced by the poor, and it
led to her job as the nation’s advocate.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t confront the distrust that
results from how the IRS treats taxpayers,” Olson said. “But
I’m fortunate to be in a job where I can make a difference.”
Wayne A. S. Hamilton (Tax)
The Wal-Mart Corporation tends to dominate Fortune
magazine’s annual list of America’s largest companies, based
on gross income. According to dailyfinance.com, if Wal-Mart,
with its $400 billion in annual sales, were a country, it would
have the 25th largest economy in the world.
It should come as no surprise that Wal-Mart would have a
complex relationship with the IRS. Wayne Hamilton ’90 is the
man who mediates that “arranged marriage.” He supervises
Wal-Mart’s Compliance Assurance Process Audit or CAP.
Rather than hold the tax return until the deadline, Hamilton
conducts a continuous audit for Wal-Mart Stores in concert
with the IRS throughout the year. Certainty about Wal-
Mart’s tax liability in the future adds security to its planning
and decision-making in the present.
“As you complete significant transactions, you are also having
a discussion with the IRS at the same time,” explained
Hamilton. “Traditionally, audits are after the fact. In this case,
by allocating resources early, we are getting things done in
real time.” Hamilton has only three people on his team, but
he works with many cross-functional teams that submit to
his office income, employment, and excise tax information.
Hamilton earned his master’s degree in tax law from the
University of Florida, but he gives enormous credit for his
success to the four years he worked outside the practice of
law in a family-owned, automotive sales company, JM Family
Enterprises Inc. Prior to that experience, he encountered
business colleagues who questioned his decision-making
because his training was in the law rather than business. At
JM Family, “someone finally sat the leadership down and
let them know a law degree is akin to an MBA in terms of
processing information.”
Ann M. Shy ’09, Solo Practitioner, Ann
Shy Firm PLLC, Dispute Resolution
Wayne A. S. Hamilton ’90, Senior
Director, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Tax Law
Nina E. Olson ’91, National
Taxpayer Advocate, Tax Law
12 of Counsel Readings and Features Readings and Features of Counsel 13
Charles Hamilton Houston
Chair: John C. Brittain
NCCU School of Law is honored
to have John C. Brittain serving
as the Charles Hamilton Houston
Chair for constitutional and civil
rights law. Professor Brittain is
a strong advocate of civil rights
with an emphasis on pursuing the
comparability and competitiveness
for historically black colleges and
universities (HBCUs). Indeed, he
earned a bachelor’s degree (1966) and juris doctor (1969) from
Howard University. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut,
Mississippi, California, and associated federal courts. He is
currently a part of a legal team representing private plaintiffs
in a federal lawsuit against the State of Maryland, based upon
Maryland, denying certain historically Black institutions of
higher learning – Morgan, Coppin, Bowie, and Maryland
Eastern Shore Universities, comparable and competitive
opportunities with traditional white universities.
Brittain is a tenured professor of law at the University of the
District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law. In the
past, he has served as Dean of the Thurgood Marshall School
of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston, a veteran law
professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law for
22 years, and the Chief Counsel and Senior Deputy Director
of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in
Washington, D.C., a public interest legal organization started
by President John F. Kennedy to enlist private lawyers to take
pro bono cases in civil rights.
He also has been the president of the National Lawyers’ Guild,
a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of the
ACLU, a long-time member of the National Conference of
Black Lawyers (NCBL), and legal counsel to the NAACP at
the local level and national office of the General Counsel. In
1993, the NAACP awarded Professor Brittain the coveted
William Robert Ming Advocacy Award for legal service to the
NAACP without a fee. The Ming Award was named in honor
of a former African-American law professor at the University
of Chicago and a brilliant civil rights lawyer who closely
worked with Thurgood Marshall.
The Charles Hamilton Houston Endowed Chair was
established by Frank Anderson and Susan Powell to bring
a prominent civil rights law professor to the School of Law
to lecture in the areas of constitutional and civil rights law.
The Chair has been held by such attorneys as Judge Charles
Becton, Fred Gray, Julius Chambers, Alvin Chambliss, Jr., and
Janelle Byrd-Chichester.
NCCU School of Law Receives
Grant to Provide Foreclosure
Aid
The NCCU School of Law received $800,000 to provide
critical foreclosure assistance to individuals across North
Carolina. The funds are provided by the N.C. Housing Finance
Agency and originate from a landmark national mortgage
settlement with the country’s five largest loan servicers.
Through the new Consumer Financial Protection Clinic, the
law school will provide foreclosure defense and prevention
services to citizens in the Durham area and across the state
through its nationally recognized legal clinic and TALIAS
(Technology Assisted Legal Instruction and Services), a high
definition video-conferencing project. The TALIAS project
enables clinic attorneys to meet with clients at four partner
universities, Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, N.C.
A&T, and Winston-Salem State, as well as at Legal Aid and
Legal Services offices across the state.
“This grant builds on the foreclosure services the school
provided last year through TALIAS,” said Phyliss Craig-
Taylor, Dean of the School of Law. “It strengthens the law
school’s strong history of delivering legal and educational
services to economically and legally vulnerable communities.”
On November 7, 2012, NCCU School of Law students,
faculty, and staff had the privilege of engaging in an insightful
conversation with former NCCU Law Professor Susie Ruth
Powell about her role as co-author of HBO’s award-winning
documentary film, The Loving Story.
The film, which has also won a Peabody Award and received
three Emmy Award nominations, is based on the story of
Richard and Mildred Loving. The Lovings were an interracial
couple who lived in Virginia in the 1950s, and their legal
struggle to live as husband and wife. Powell discussed the
importance of the case, Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967),
a landmark civil rights decision of the United States Supreme
Court that invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage.
Powell shared insight into the making of the film and the
filmmaker’s successful efforts to document the personal
struggle and great sacrifice that the Lovings endured to live as
a married couple. She also shared clips from the program, and
told the rapt audience how the case was brought by Mildred
Loving, a Black woman, and Richard Loving, a White man,
who had been sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for
marrying each other. Their marriage violated the state’s anti-miscegenation
statute, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which
prohibited marriage between people classified as “White”
and people classified as “Colored.” The Supreme Court’s
unanimous decision held this prohibition was unconstitutional,
overturning Pace v. Alabama (1883), and ending all race-based
legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.
Powell received her juris doctor from Case Western Reserve
in 1970 in the first wave of women law students and was
one of two black women to graduate. Soon after passing the
Ohio bar, she sued the United States on behalf of poor people
living in substandard federal housing in the case Garden Valley
Tenants Association v. James Lynn. Powell practiced poverty law
in North Carolina and Ohio, and taught contracts and trial
practice at NCCU School of Law. Powell is currently focusing
on a fictional account of the Wilmington Race Riots of 1898,
the seminal event that ushered in Jim Crow to North Carolina.
The Loving Story: A Conversation
with Susie Ruth Powell
John C. Brittain
Assistant Dean Pamela S. Glean ‘80 introduces Susie Ruth Powell
Faculty Spotlights of Counsel 15
Distinguished alumni award presented at the
first Legal Eagle Commencement Reunion
Professor Susan E. Hauser
received the 19th Annual Award for
Excellence in Teaching from the UNC
Board of Governors on May 11, 2013.
“This is really a tremendous honor,
and it is the highest award available to
me as a teacher. It is a university-level
teaching award, awarded to one person on each of the 17
UNC institutions every year.” Additionally, in October of
2012, Professor Hauser received the Editors’ Prize from the
American Bankruptcy Law Journal. “The ABLJ is a peer-reviewed
journal, and there actually is a Board of Editors
that votes on this prize. The Editors’ Prize is awarded to the
best article from the previous year, and this is the top thing
out there in the world of bankruptcy professors. I was happy
just to publish an article in this journal, and I was completely
floored to get this.”
Professor Irving Joyner
Operating under the theme that “Power
concedes nothing without a demand,”
the Institute of the Black World (IBW)
21st Century awarded Professor Irving
Joyner its Legacy Award during its
annual conference on November 17,
2012, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. This
Legacy Award specifically targeted Professor Joyner’s
successful efforts in pursuing and obtaining justice for the
Wilmington Ten and for his lifelong efforts and dedication to
civil rights and equal justice. The award was presented by Dr.
Ron Daniels, President of IBW.
Faculty
Spotlights
Professor Gregory Malhoit
was the December 2012 recipient of the
Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of the
most prestigious awards presented by
the governor to individuals who have a
proven record of extraordinary service
to the state. State employees can be
awarded the Order if they have contributed more than 30 years
of dedicated and enthusiastic service to the state of North
Carolina. Contributions to the community and extra effort in
their careers are some of the criteria for selection of recipients.
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
was named one of the 100 most
influential Black lawyers for 2013 in On
Being a Black Lawyer Power 100. She was
saluted, along with the other honorees,
for her efforts to advance diversity in the
legal profession.
16 of Counsel At School Now At School Now of Counsel 17
General Suter (center), Prof. April Dawson
(far right), and students at the Supreme Court
At School Now
The visit to the Supreme Court benefited us as students and
our law school. Professor Dawson, through her contacts
and networking with Supreme Court officials, was able to
obtain reserved seating for our class to hear oral arguments.
Observing these arguments reinforced what we had learned
during our in-class discussions about the workings of the
Court. Hearing the questions posed by the Justices during oral
argument helped me to realize that the level of preparation
for both the advocates and Justices is great. Additionally, it
made me appreciate that attorneys arguing a case (in any
court) needed to have knowledge beyond the particular
issues presented to be effective advocates. It gave me a new
appreciation for both the advocates and the Justices.
It was quite impressive that officials at the Supreme Court
took time out of their busy schedules to recognize us during
our visit. Professor Dawson’s continued interest in providing
our students with the opportunity to observe court proceedings
before our nation’s highest court does not go unappreciated.
We all have gained a great respect for this prestigious
institution that we study in great detail in many of our law
school courses. Our experiences at the Court could not have
been taught in a classroom or learned by reading a textbook.
Taking this course has inspired a new interest in appellate law,
and my trip to the Supreme Court will certainly inspire me in
my continued study of the law.
After this trip, we can all share our experiences with our fellow
students. Hopefully, they will be inspired to take the class and
the trip, as well.
PILO Auction
The Public Interest Law Organization hosted its first annual
silent auction and banquet in November at the law school.
The event allowed students, alumni, and PILO affiliates to
network and raise stipend funds for students interested in
public interest work.
Professor Gene Nichol, director of the UNC Center on
Work, Poverty and Opportunity, was the keynote speaker.
Items for auction were donated by law school professors
and local businesses. Donations included gift baskets, gift
cards from spas, basketball tickets, an iPod Touch, a $500
Kaplan bar prep scholarship for a 3L, and many lunches
and dinners by professors. The big ticket item was Professor
Fred Williams’ hair – he donated his locks to PILO. An
anonymous bidder won with a $200 bid and donated the
haircut to the PILO Board. The banquet was sponsored by
Attorney Geoffrey Simmons.
NCCU School of Law Voted
Most Popular by U.S. News &
World Report
NCCU School of Law was voted “Most Popular” by U.S.
News & World Report for a second consecutive year. The
law school was ranked number six, just behind Yale and
Harvard University. The ranking is an improvement from
last year, when it was ranked tenth.
The U.S. News surveys 200 fully ABA-accredited law
schools based on the school’s self-reported data regarding,
among other things, academic programs and makeup of the
student body.
Students Visit the
U.S. Supreme Court
Edited by Brenda D. Gibson ’95 Professor April Dawson’s Supreme Court Seminar class had the opportunity to
observe oral arguments firsthand this spring on a trip to the Supreme Court
arranged by Dawson. The students were also able to meet with the Clerk of the
Supreme Court, General William Suter. Attendee Kristi Strawbridge (Class of
2014) provided an account of her experience:
Professor Gene Nichol (center) with members of the PILO Board
Geoffrey Simmons, Professor Page Potter,
and Larry Brown Jr. at the PILO auction.
18 19
2013 Commencement
Ceremonies
Commencement exercises for the Class of 2013 were
held on May 11 at King’s Park International Church in
Durham. Vernon Jordan, lawyer, business executive, and
renowned civil rights activist, served as the keynote speaker.
Jordan is a leading figure in the civil rights movement, and
was chosen by President Bill Clinton as a close adviser. He
has become known as an influential figure in American
politics. Jordan spoke to the 156 graduates about his
career beginnings, the challenges he faced due to the social
climate of the time, and life lessons learned along the way.
Frances McDuffie ‘13 and Carol Mclean ‘13
Megan Albaugh ‘13, Dayo Aladeniyi ‘13, and Krystle Acevedo ‘13
James Smith ‘69, Ruth Franks ‘73, and Rev. Charles Miller ‘73
Vernon Jordan, Commencement Speaker Victoria Neal ‘13 and Nana Nti ‘13
20 of Counsel Alumni Events Alumni Events of Counsel 21
Alumni Receptions
With the gracious assistance of alumni, NCCU School of Law
hosted the following receptions this year:
Elizabeth City, NC
The Elizabeth City Alumni Reception, hosted by G. Wendell
Spivey ’76 and The Honorable J. Carlton Cole ’87, was held at
Montero’s Restaurant on October 2, 2012.
Fayetteville, NC
The Fayetteville Alumni Reception, hosted by Glenn Adams
’84 and Mike Williford ’83, was held at the law firm of Adams
Burge & Boughman on October 3, 2012.
Washington, D.C.
The Washington, D.C., Alumni Reception, hosted by Akela
Crawford ’11, Donna Douglas ’84, Stephen Redmon ’87, and
the Honorable Sommer Murphy ’08, was held at the 1331
Lounge & Bar at the JW Marriott on November 9, 2012.
Atlanta, GA
The Atlanta Alumni Reception, hosted by Senator Leroy
Johnson ’57, was held at his home on November 15, 2012.
Lumberton, NC
The Lumberton Alumni Reception, hosted by Arnold Locklear
’73, was held at Adelio’s Restaurant on December 6, 2012.
Raleigh, NC
The Triangle Alumni Reception (Raleigh, Durham, and
Chapel Hill alumni), hosted by Leonard Jernigan ’76, A.
Root Edmonson ’76, the Honorable Wanda Bryant ’82, the
Honorable Rick Elmore ’82, Victor Boone ’75, William
Dudley, Sr. ’76, Joe Mitchiner ’76, Jay Chaudhuri ’99, William
Polk ’99, Hugh Harris ’03, Robert L. Brown ’04, Sarah Carr
D’amato ’08, and Sarah Jessica Farber ’08, was held at the N.C.
Court of Appeals on April 10, 2013.
NCCU School of Law, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends welcomed Phyliss
Craig-Taylor as the new Dean with a reception on September 21, 2012. Dean
Craig-Taylor, a veteran educator, rejoined the law school after having served
as a professor of law from 2000-2006.
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor and Raleigh area alumni
Welcome Reception for Dean
Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Alumni
Events
Akela Crawford ’11, Stephen Redmon ’87,
and Hon. Sommer Murphy ‘08
Senator Leroy Johnson ’57 and Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Donald Gwin, Patsy Matthews ’86, Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor, and Gerald Taylor
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor with family
22 of Counsel Alumni Events Alumni Events of Counsel 23
Richmond, VA
The Richmond Alumni Reception, hosted by Tonnie
Villines ’88, was held at the Tobacco Company Restaurant
on April 12, 2013.
New Bern, NC
The New Bern Alumni Reception, hosted by Ciara Rogers
’09, Darnell Parker ’96, and Anita Powers-Branch ’84, was
held at the law firm of Oliver Friesen Cheek PLLC on
April 30, 2013.
Asheville, NC
The Asheville Alumni Reception, hosted by Eugene Ellison
’83, was held at Pack’s Tavern on May 3, 2013.
Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
The Greensboro/Winston-Salem Alumni Reception, hosted
by Charles Blackmon ’88, Angela Newell Gray ’94, and
Helen Parsonage ’06, was held at the Sheraton Four Seasons
on May 22, 2013.
Charlotte, NC
The Charlotte Alumni Reception, hosted by Bartina
Edwards ’04, Norman Butler ’78, Kenneth Snow ’00, and
Tanisha Johnson ’07, was held at the Judge Clifton E.
Johnson Building on May 29, 2013.
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor and New Bern area alumni
Participants in the first Legal Eagle Commencement Reunion: Ralph Frasier ’65, Beryl Sansom Gilmore ’70,
Anderson Council ‘69, Shelia Parrish-Spence ’72, Frank Ballance Jr. ‘65, E. Yvonne Pugh ’73, Timothy Crawford
’69, Charles Miller ’73, James Smith ’69, Ruth Franks ’73, A. Leon Stanback ’68, and Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
On Saturday, alumni attending the reunion were recognized
during the 2013 NCCU Law School Commencement
Exercises. Judge Beryl Sansom Gilmore ’70 brought
greetings to the graduates on behalf of attending alumni.
The commencement reunion culminated with a Carolina
BBQ jazz luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn. Thank you
to all of the alumni who attended and the class agents for
the reunion, Judge Sammie Chess, Jr. ’58, Judge A. Leon
Stanback ’68, and Judge Beryl Sansom Gilmore’70.
The reunion celebration for the classes of 1948-1973 began
with an awards banquet on Friday at the law school. Dean
Harry Groves served as the keynote speaker. Dean Groves,
while serving as Dean from 1976 until 1981, created the
evening program. Groves taught in all of the buildings that
have ever housed the law school, beginning in 1949. During
the banquet, the Distinguished Alumni Award was presented
to Senator Leroy R. Johnson ’57, Ralph K. Frasier ’65, and
Arnold Locklear ’65.
First Legal Eagle
Commencement Reunion
The North Carolina Central University School of Law held its First Legal Eagle
Commencement Reunion on May 10 and 11, 2013.
Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor (center),
the host committee, and area alumni
Tonnie Villines ’88 (center), Dean Phyliss
Craig-Taylor, and area alumni
24 of Counsel Alumni Events Alumni News of Counsel 25
Senator Leroy Johnson ‘57, Hon. Sammie
Chess, Jr. ‘58, and Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Ralph Frasier, Jr. ‘94 with family and friends
Ruth Franks ‘73 and E. Yuonne Pugh ‘73
Senator Leroy Johnson ‘57
Senator Leroy Johnson ‘57, his wife Cleopatra Johnson,
Hon. Sammie Chess, Jr. ‘58, and his wife Sandra Chess
Nathan Baskerville ’06
was sworn in as the new state
representative for Vance, Granville, and
Warren counties on January 9, 2013,
in the N.C. House of Representatives.
His father, the Honorable Randolph
Baskerville ’76, read the oath of
office and officially swore in his son.
Afterward, Baskerville joined the other
Alumni
News
119 members of the House for the
official ceremony.
Baskerville will serve on the following
committees: Judiciary Subcommittee
C, Appropriation Subcommittee on
Transportation, Insurance, Regulatory
Reform, Agriculture, and Health and
Human Services.
Two NCCU Law School alumni were appointed to the Board of Directors for
the NOSSCR at their National Conference in Seattle, Washington. Lawrence
Wittenberg ’84 was reappointed as a representative of the Past Presidents Council.
Wittenberg was first elected from the Fourth Circuit in 1999 and served on the
Board of Directors as treasurer, secretary, vice president, and president. Rick Fleming ‘01 was
elected to the board as the new Fourth Circuit representative.
Alumni Appointed to Board
of Directors for the National
Organization of Social Security
Representatives (NOSSCR)
Hon. Randolph Baskerville ’76,
Sarah Baskerville, and Nathan
Baskerville ‘06
26 of Counsel Alumni News Alumni News of Counsel 27
DeWarren K. Langley ’11
was awarded the prestigious 2013
Outstanding Citizen Spectrum of
Democracy Award in honor of his
vital contributions to make North
Carolina’s democracy and government
better, specifically for his work to create
genuine and meaningful opportunities
to engage youth with policymakers
through the Durham Youth
Commission and Kids Voting Durham.
The Award was conferred by the North
Carolina Center for Voter Education
at the Raleigh Marriott City Center on
February 21, 2013.
Gale Murray Adams ’84
was elected as Superior Court Judge
for the 12th Judicial District of
North Carolina in the November
election. She was sworn in on January
4, 2013, at the Cumberland County
Courthouse. Adams served as a
federal public defender for nearly two
decades and ran unopposed in the
November election. She will replace
the Honorable Gregory Weeks, who
recently retired.
Emily Dickens ’02
accepted a position as Assistant Vice
President of Federal Relations for
the University of North Carolina
System. Dickens served as the Director
of Government and Community
Affairs for the Chancellor’s Office at
Fayetteville State University prior to
accepting the Assistant Vice
President position.
Paula Hankins ’94
was elected as District Court Judge
for the 13th Judicial District of North
Carolina in the November election.
She was sworn on January 2, 2013, at
the Brunswick County Courthouse.
Hankins has 18 years of progressive
legal experience, served as an arbitrator
judge for 13 years, was awarded the
2011 N.C. Governor’s Award for
Volunteer Service, and serves as
President of the Brunswick County
Bar Association.
Frank S. Turner ’73
will become the vice chairman of the
Ways and Means Committee in the
Maryland House of Delegates. Turner
has served as chair of the House
of Delegates’ Finance Resources
Subcommittee since 2007.
Aliste Harris ’09
accepted a position at the Southern
Environmental Law Center in the
Atlanta office. Harris, who also has
a bachelor’s degree from Spelman
College and a master’s of public
administration from Kennesaw
State University, has worked as an
attorney in the Tort Litigation and
Environmental Practice Group at
King & Spalding’s Atlanta office since
2010. Prior to that, she was a law
clerk at the White House Council
on Environmental Quality, summer
associate at Smith, Gambrell &
Russell, and a judicial intern with the
North Carolina Court of Appeals. She
is also on the Georgia Conservancy
Generation Green’s Board.
Chandler Vatavuk ’07
has been named as one of the Ten
Outstanding Young Americans
(TOYA) of 2012 by the Jaycees. The
TOYA Award recognizes those aged
18 to 40 who exemplify the best
our country offers and has included
Presidents John F. Kennedy, Gerald
Ford, and Bill Clinton. Vatavuk’s work
as an advocate for at-risk youth was
specifically honored.
LaKeisha Randall ’11
accepted the position of Senior Law
Clerk at the Municipal Court for the
City of Atlanta, where she will support
all seven judges of the court. Randall
has also recently published her first
article through the American Bar
Association’s litigation section, and is
writing a full-length article on class
actions in the fall.
William S. Eubanks II ’07
was recently invited to join the faculty
of American University’s Washington
College of Law as an adjunct associate
professor of law, where he will be
teaching a course on environmental
law and agricultural policy. Eubanks
is also an adjunct law professor at
Vermont Law School and an attorney
at one of the nation’s leading public
interest environmental law firms,
Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, in
Washington, D.C.
Dale Deese ’89
was the 2012 recipient of the Deborah
Greenblatt Outstanding Legal
Services Attorney Award presented
at the Pro Bono Service Awards
in June at the North Carolina Bar
Association’s annual meeting in
Wilmington. Deese is the senior
managing attorney for Legal Aid of
North Carolina in the Pembroke office,
and serves on the United Tribes of
North Carolina Board and the North
Carolina Indian Business Association.
Michael R. Morgan ’79
was recently entered into the National
Judicial College’s Hall of Honor for 20
consecutive years of faculty teaching
longevity at the National Judicial
College (NJC). Judge Morgan is a
Superior Court judge in the General
Court of Justice for the State of North
Carolina, and is the first and only judge
from North Carolina to have 15 or
more years of service on the faculty at
the NJC and to be recognized on the
Hall of Honor.
Brian O. Beverly ’95
was selected for a second consecutive
year as a “Super Lawyer” in the
North Carolina Super Lawyers 2013
publication. Beverly centers his practice
on the defense of transportation
liability claims involving large
commercial vehicles, insurance
coverage litigation and medical
negligence cases at Young Moore
and Henderson, P.A. in Raleigh.
Super Lawyers is a rating service of
outstanding lawyers from more than
70 practice areas who have attained
a high degree of peer recognition
and professional achievement. The
selection process is multi-phased and
includes independent research, peer
nominations, and peer evaluations.
Jade M. Cobb ’08
has joined Littler Employment &
Labor Solutions Worldwide. Cobb
focuses her practice on employment
law and employment discrimination
litigation. She represents employers in
the litigation of claims arising under
federal and state law. Prior to joining
Littler, Cobb was an associate at
another labor and employment firm.
During law school, she completed
an externship with the Honorable
Judge Richard A. Elmore at the North
Carolina Court of Appeals. She also
completed a legal internship with a
world wide tire manufacturer.
Lorrie L. Dollar ’84
was named chief deputy secretary of
administration for the Department
of Public Safety by Secretary Kieran
Shanahan. In private practice, Dollar
handled administrative and civil
litigation, and transactional matters
with the law firm of Stephenson, Gray
and Waters. She was also appointed to
the Dispute Resolution Commission
in 2012, and has served as chief deputy
state auditor, deputy commissioner
with the N.C. Industrial Commission,
and a staff attorney with the
Department of Human Resources.
Brian O. Beverly ‘95
Hon. Paula Hankins ‘94
Hon. Gale Murray Adams ‘84
28 of Counsel Donor List Donor List of Counsel 29
Donor List
$10,000-more
Atiba Adams ‘96
John D Fassett
Smith/Shaver Law School
Scholarship Fund, Inc.
$9,000-$5,000
Dominique Camm ‘09
Phyliss Craig-Taylor
Sharif A. Deveaux ‘10
Marvin D. Genzer
Clayton L. Jones ‘85
Lawyers Mutual Liability
Insurance
Jessica M. Major ‘09
Daron D. Satterfield ‘02
Mary D. Stevenson ‘75
Priscilla H. Wallace
Wal-Mart Foundation
$4,999-$2,500
Sammie Chess Jr. ‘58
Everett K. Chandler ‘97
Ronald S. Douglas ‘82 &
Wanda Bryant ‘82
Grady Jessup ‘86
Dara M. Kendall ‘97
Charles E. Smith
Milton A. Tingling ‘82
Monte D. Watkins ‘84
$2,499-$1,000
Glenn Adams ‘84 &
Gale M. Adams ‘84
John Barbee
Danielle T. Bennett ‘99
Norman Butler ‘78
John B. Carter Jr. ‘79
Henry C. Campen ‘86
Bert Collins ‘70
A. Wayland Cooke ‘76
Thomas F. Cuffie ‘78
Alvin H. Darden ‘77
Harold T. Epps
Anthony Fox ‘82
Ralph K. Frasier Jr. ‘94
Nathan T. Garrett ‘86 &
Wanda J. Garrett ‘86
Kenneth D. Gibbs Sr. ‘94
David A. Green
Harry E. Groves
Delores James
Jessie A. Jeffers ‘94
Leonard T. Jernigan Jr. ‘76
Leroy R. Johnson ‘57
Kya J. Johnson ‘04
Irving Joyner
David F Kirby
Arnold Locklear ‘73
Mark D. Locklear ‘96
James A. Mack ‘69
Mark W. Morris ‘82 &
Angela W. Morris ‘03
Carolyn B. O’Garro-Moore ‘87
Jane E. Pearce ‘98
Raymond C. Pierce
Marshall B. Pitts Jr. ‘90
Jimonique S. Rodgers ‘96
James E. Rogers ‘87
Lowell L. Siler ‘79
Maceo K. Sloan ‘79
Maurice R. Smith ‘05
Kia H. Vernon ‘00
Fred A. Whitfield ‘88
Michael L. Williford ‘83
Mary E. Wright
$999-$500
Cheryl E. Amana
John K. Bramble ‘05
Frances S. Bynum ‘82
Timothy L. Coggins ‘84
J. Carlton Cole ‘87
Leigh A. Dasher ‘09
William A. Dudley Sr. ‘76
Eugene W. Ellison ‘83
Karen Frasier Alston ‘94
Catherine S. Frederick
Angela D. Gilmore
Pamela S. Glean ‘80
Anissa N. Graham-Davis ‘10
Theodore A. Greve ‘93
Susan Hauser
Roland H. Hayes ‘71
James R. Hill ‘75
Kimball H. Hunt ‘74
Deborah M. Jefferies ‘76
Paul L. Jones ‘74
Kirby & Holt Foundation
Angela G. McIver ‘01
Adrienne L. Meddock ‘91
Joseph H. Mitchiner ‘76
Walter H. Nunnallee
Dwight D. Perry
Nichelle J. Perry ‘93 &
Alexander S. Perry ‘93
Timothy J. Peterkin ‘04
David O. Prince ‘76
Vivian M. Redd Leavens ‘08
Thomas M. Ringer Jr.
Anitra D. Royster ‘02
Wendy Scott
Geoffrey H. Simmons
Aaron Spaulding
A. Leon Stanback Jr. ‘68
Gwendolyn C. Walker ‘96
Judith E. Washington ‘77
Lisa H. Wilks ‘96 &
Brian C. Wilks ‘96
William T. Wilson Jr. ‘76
Maxine Wright
Pamela Thorpe Young ‘85
& Reuben F. Young ‘85
$499-$100
William D. Acton, Jr. ‘77
Willa Adams
Joseph B. Agusta ‘97
Benjamin G. Alford ‘78
Sonya M. Allen ‘99
Britton H. Allen ‘06
Edward M. Anderson Sr. ‘76
Charlene Y. Armstrong ‘96
Cinque Axam ‘07
Debbie G. Baker ‘94
Camille D. Banks-Payne ‘01
Shelly Bao ‘06
Melaniece M. Bardley
McKnight ‘03
Braxton H. Bell ‘89
Albert M. Benshoff ‘93
Dorothy C. Bernholz ‘75
Brian O. Beverly ‘95
Bishop & Smith, PLLC
Mark H. Black ‘91
Charles K. Blackmon ‘88
Oscar M. Blanks III ‘10
Victor J. Boone ‘75
Donna K. Bott
Renee L. Bowser ‘82
Benn A. Brewington III ‘06
Thomas E. Brewington Jr. ‘98
Dedrick Brittenum Jr. ‘82
Larry D. Brown Jr. ‘08
Henry Brown
Lynn M. Burke ‘10
Gwendolyn F. Burrell ‘93
Potso Byndon ‘11
Janell Byrd-Chichester
Arien P. Cannon ‘11
Amanda C. Cnatrell ‘87
David Chambers ‘79
Julius L. Chambers
Ertle K. Chavis ‘73
William H. Christy ‘89
Todd Clark
Joseph P. Clark ‘93
Theaosues T. Clayton ‘58
Irma C. Clement ‘94
Andrew C. Clifford ‘04
Blair E. Cody III ‘00
Julia H. Cofield ‘76
Kimberly Cogdell
M. Elizabeth K. Collins ‘05
Donald W. Corbett
Shednichole M. Cotton ‘08
Kathryn L. Coulter ‘05
Jabari B. Craddock ‘12
Michael D. Crim ‘94
Joel C. Cunningham ‘97
April Dawson
Anne H. Daye
Kathryn C. DeAngelo ‘84
Dale G. Deese ‘89
Ernest L. Dessausure ‘96
Emily M. Dickens ‘02
Edward D. Dilone ‘03
Joan B. DiNapoli ‘87
Judith A. Dobbin ‘86
T. Greg Doucette ‘12
Donna Douglas ‘84
Frances Dyer ‘76
Brenda Eaddy ‘93
A. Root Edmonson ‘76
Shelley Lucas Edwards
Roberta L. Edwards-Mills ‘85
Richard A. Elmore ‘82
Brian Elston ‘09
Patricia D. Evans ‘83
James H. Faison III ‘87
Linda L. Falls ‘87
William M. Farris ‘01
Russell W. Fergusson ‘08
Sylvia C. Fields
Jane F. Finch ‘78
Wallace W. Finlator Jr. ‘87
Dayle A. Flammia ‘80
Rick W. Fleming ‘01
Jeanne B. Ford ‘98
Constance L. Foster ‘92
Christy L. Foster ‘04
Richard K. Foster ‘73
Ira L. Foster ‘88
Kevin C. Foy ‘94
Ruth E. Franks ‘73
Ralph K. Frasier ‘65
Ingrid Friesen
Ernest B. Fullwood ‘72
Justin Yang Gao ‘11
Stephen T. Gheen ‘84
Brenda D. Gibson ‘95
Iris W. Gilchrist
Beryl Sansom Gilmore ‘70
Philip P. Godwin Jr. ‘78
Cy A. Grant Sr. ‘81
Rosiland T. Grant ‘82
Iris P. Green ‘01
Nichole B. Greene ‘06
Gum, Hillier & McCroskey, PA
Mary J. Gurganus ‘05
Charles R. Gurley ‘90
Emily K. Hales ‘09
David W. Hands ‘02
Pauline Hankins ‘94
Arlene Hanks ‘96
Paul A. Hardison ‘84
Teresa Hardison
Deborah Hargett-Robinson ‘90
John H. Harmon ‘65
George W. Harris Jr. ‘67
Malcolm E. Harris ‘75
John Christopher Heagarty ‘10
Arnold R. Henderson ‘84
John F. Hester ‘75
Tracy H. Hewett ‘04
Commencement Reunion Honorees Ralph Frasier ‘65, Sen. Leroy Johnson ‘57,
Arnold Locklear ‘73, Sammie Chess, Jr. ‘58, and A. Leon Stanback ‘68
30 of Counsel Donor List Donor List of Counsel 31
Charles H. Holmes ‘75
Donnie Hoover ‘74
Randall R. Howell ‘09
F. Warren Hughes ‘81
Anna W. Humphrey ‘06
Olivia J. Hyatt ‘08
Simone N. Hylton ‘08
Susan T. Iddings ‘84
Diane G. Jacoby ‘88
Craig James ‘96
E. Ann Hill Jefferson ‘84
Marion Jervay
Charles H. Jurman ‘72
Eleanor G. Kinnaird ‘92
John W. Kirkman Jr. ‘76
James C. Lamb IV ‘86
Laura J. Lamkin ‘93
Lydia E. Lavelle ‘93
L. Brent Lawrence ‘76
Tamara Y. Lee ‘84
Jennifer Lee ‘01
Romeo H. Lewis II ‘72
Ola M. Lewis ‘90
Stephanie M. Locke ‘10
Kim Luckes ‘82
James E. Martin ‘75
Dennis G. Martin ‘93
John Mason
Patsy Matthews ‘86
Nancy Mayer ‘06
Steven A. McCloskey ‘99
Lawrence T. McPhail ‘11
Joyce W. Michaux ‘76
Charles B. Miller ‘73
Richard Miller ‘75
Reginald Mombrun ‘88
Vaughn S. Monroe ‘03
Kimberly A. Moore ‘94
Lisa G. Morgan
Herman J. Morris ‘10
Victor A. Motley ‘81
Nelwyn J. Mpare ‘80
Deedee Nachman ‘96
Daniel J. Nagle ‘08
Sable K. Nelson
Elizabeth Q. Newman
Tammy D. Nicholson ‘99
Joel N. Oakley ‘86
Mary R. O’Driscoll
Chimezie T. Okobi ‘11
Nina E. Olson ‘91
Henry W. Oxendine ‘73
Page & Rogers, P.A.
Regina R. Parker ‘92
John R. Parker Jr. ‘08
Phillip J. Parker Jr. ‘10
E. F. Parnell III
Christopher F. Peffley ‘04
William T. Peregoy ‘90
Steven B. Phillips ‘93
Ronald J. Pitts Sr. ‘69
C. Ruffin Poole ‘98
Page Potter
Robert L. Potter ‘73
Anita R. Powers-Branch ‘84
Eric E. Pridgen ‘03
George E. Pruden II ‘81
E. Yvonne Pugh ‘73
Qualcomm Foundation
Cindi M. Quay ‘00
Robert Quigley
Harvey W. Raynor III ‘80
Stephen T. Redmon ‘87
Brandi S. Reeves ‘08
Jamal Rhinehardt ‘03
Linda Seay Robertson ‘04
Sharika M. Robinson ‘12
Darrell L. Robinson ‘05
Brandon A. Robinson ‘13
Franklin L. Robinson Jr. ‘93
Ciara L. Rogers ‘09
Craigie D. Sanders ‘00
Terri W. Sharp ‘00
Thomas M. Shuford Jr. ‘73
C. Miller Sigmon Jr. ‘86
Fern Gunn Simeon
Cynthia Simoni
Travis H. Simpson ‘97
Raymond Sitar ‘72
Maceo K. Sloan ‘79
Michael L. Smith ‘80
Shelena G. Smith ‘05
Kenneth D. Snow ‘00
Turner H. Sothoron ‘11
Matthew P. Sperati ‘99
G. Wendell Spivey ‘76
Michael A. Springs ‘97
John R Spruill
Heidi H. Stewart ‘95
Erogers Stinson ‘72
Richard E. Strowd ‘81
Paul A. Suhr ‘88
Matthew Sullivan ‘06
Teresa Swanhorst ‘07
Julia W. Taylor
Donna M. Taylor ‘00
Pamela M. Thombs ‘99
Angus B. Thompson II ‘77
Cutis Thompson ‘07
Kristina Thompson ‘08
Dorothy Thornburg
Patricia Timmons-Goodson
Julie H. Tucker ‘04
Sharon P. Turner ‘95
Frank S. Turner ‘73
Jason N. Tuttle ‘00
Rose Tate Vaughan
Glenn C. Veit ‘88
Ricardo Velasquez ‘02
Constance Walker ‘87
Robbin E. Washington ‘70
Natalie C. Watson ‘01
Marion J. Weaver Jr. ‘74
Webb Webb & Summey
Professional Assoc.
LaDonna Webster ‘07
Allen H. Wellons ‘75
Leslie O. Wickham Jr. ‘83
Fred J. Williams
Alicia D. Williams ‘11
LaRhonda N. Williams ‘09
Michael W. Willis ‘81
Mitchell A. Wolf ‘78
Stephen C. Woodard Jr. ‘76
Donald M. Wright ‘76
Keisha L. Wright Hill ‘02
Wendy Leigh Wysong
Errol Zeiger ‘91
Under $100
Sharon D. Alston
J. Thomas Amburgey
Terrell Amos
Jannice Ashley
John R. Astle ‘09
Lloyd R. Ballance ‘81
Deborah H. Barnette ‘10
James P. Beckwith
Staris Best
A. Melton Black Jr. ‘98
Jennifer S. Blue-Smith ‘06
Keith O. Bowles II ‘93
Tonya W. Boykin ‘04
M. Scott Boyles ‘91
Laura Shepherd Brooks
Henry O. Brown ‘75
Westra Brown
Sandra Brown Bechtold
Brandi J. Bullock ‘13
Carissa S. Burroughs
Michael A. Bush ‘00
Lawrence M. Campbell ‘84
Capital Community Foundation
Vernice E. Carney
Janelle Carter ‘07
Ricky W. Champion ‘84
Gregory Clinton
Krishnee V. Coley ‘00
Eshe P. Collins ‘09
Lauren M. Collins
Michelle Cosby
Christin E. Cotten ‘11
Akela D. Crawford ‘11
Peter R. Davis
Richard R. Davis ‘98
Maria C. De Ramos ‘11
Maria C. De Ramos
Lucretia T Doyle
Nicole Y. Drew ‘11
Bartina L. Edwards ‘94
Jacob Ehrmann
Bethaney L. Embry ‘08
Sarah Jessica Farber ‘08
Matthew D. Flammia ‘12
Arminta Foushee
Steven W. Fowler ‘99
Norman E. Frye ‘84
Crystal A. Gaines ‘89
William E. Gardner ‘76
William L. Gibbs ‘09
Wadad Giles
Geoffrey E. Gledhill ‘75
Carol L. Goins ‘89
Elizabeth S. Gold ‘11
Kellie A. Gonzalez ‘03
Thomasina V. Gore ‘98
Jason L. Groves ‘96 &
Athena Malloy Groves ‘94
Shauna A. Guyton ‘12
Janie V. Harrell
Derrick J. Hensley ‘11
William H. Hill ‘96
Tabatha P. Holliday ‘02
Alvin L. Hudson ‘11
Derek Hunter ‘07
Tab C. Hunter ‘93
Jonathan E. James ‘06
Tiffany Jefferson ‘05
Ratna Jena
Lisa Y. Johnson-Tonkins ‘03
Rosa M. Jones
Craig Kabatchnick
Emma G. Kinyanjui ‘03
Lisa M. Kirscht ‘98
Andrew J. Kisala ‘11
Donna Kornegay
Barbara J. Lagemann ‘09
David Lancaster
Stacy E. Lee ‘09
Wendy J. Lindberg ‘09
William D. Lloyd ‘87
Tanisha Locke ‘07
Tanya D. Locklair ‘96
Michael E. Lockridge ‘02
Karen E. Long
Joyvan L. Malbon ‘09
Greg Malhoit
Alicia M. Marks ‘08
Laura L. Martin ‘08
Brenda F. Martin ‘00
Michael D. Mason ‘74
Jo Ann B. McCants ‘90
Carmen S. McCloud
Paula K. McGrann ‘01
Leslie B. McLemore ‘11
Leslie B. McLemore
Debora M. McNichol ‘08
Ethel T. Middleton
Titichia T. Mitchell ‘11
Preston D. Mitchum ‘11
Jade M. Murray ‘08
David Murray ‘08
Misty A. Oaks ‘08
Robert W. Oast Jr.
Janice Joyner Panza ‘86
Caleb Pate
Caroline B. Paul ‘11
Nicholas J. Perry ‘97
Dean P. Phelps ‘11
D. Toni Pinkston ‘04
John B. Pitt
Clay Plunkett ‘00
Alician V. Quinlan ‘02
Micah Ragland ‘06
William L. Redd ‘76
Brenda Reddix-Small
Gina L. Reyman
Jared Rice ‘04
P. Demond Richardson ‘99
Clayton Riddle
Brenda Rivera-Sanchez ‘07
Vinston M. Rozier Jr. ‘01
Gerald E. Rush ‘75
Deborah Sandlin-Brockmann ‘98
Clark E. Scales
Davis Sebree
Marcus A. Shields ‘11
Archie L. Smith III ‘76
Allen Smith
Nareissa Smith
Thomas E. Snell ‘03
Stanley B. Sprague ‘74
Emily Sutton Dezio
Laura Swartz ‘12
Valarie E. Thomas ‘01
Dale L. Thomas Jr. ‘09
Aija M. Tingling ‘05
Frank Toliver
Caroline Tomlinson-Pemberton ‘06
Stephanie Troy Williams
Stephen J. Valentine ‘09
Yushika Walker
Stephen Walker ‘06
Lori Warlick ‘07
Brian S. Welch ‘91
Lauriette W. West-Hoff ‘87
George H. Whitaker ‘87
Eric C. Williams ‘09
Debby L. Willis ‘86
Paul F. Winborne ‘87
Malishai Woodbury
2013 Commencement Recession
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